Client, Year

Johns Hopkins University, 2024

Services

Donor Recognition

Awards / Press

Photography

Hopkins Bloomberg Center

Elevating a space for elevated thinking

The Hopkins Bloomberg Center is a state-of-the-art academic powerhouse in downtown D.C. The project, a nearly $650 million refit of the former Newseum, expands Johns Hopkins University’s Baltimore-based footprint with a prominent position on Pennsylvania Avenue, just blocks from the U.S. Capitol. As expected, a project of such magnitude comprised multiple invested stakeholders. Ashton worked with all of them to ensure their gifts and interests were properly recognized throughout the  10-story, 435,000-square-foot space.

Crafting the building’s signage plan required the development and execution of a complex strategy. In addition to systematically recognizing financial donors and their varying gifts, we needed to include legacy donors, educators, and statesmen from JHU’s previous D.C. campus in the new building’s hierarchy. The building’s complex structure offered more challenges; its mix of interconnected, multilevel spaces required inventive solutions for demarcating areas.

Scale and placement were carefully considered within the architectural fabric of each space. Names were set with pin-mounted letters and accompanied by narrative plaques.

All named signage was crafted from muntz metal to complement the walnut-panelled walls found throughout the building. Originally developed in the 1830s to sheath the bottom of wooden boats, muntz metal is a brass alloy whose copper, zinc, and iron composition provides a nice visual accent to the panelling’s rich, dark tones.

Artwork was an integral part of the Center’s design. Of particular note is the 1,000-square-foot public gallery on the ground floor named for Irene and Richard Frary, two longtime art patrons and Hopkins benefactors. The space will present rotating exhibitions to foster dialogue around the arts and democracy. 

In support of this effort, we created metal labels for the building’s permanent collection with a QR code that links to Bloomberg Connects, a proprietary app that aims to make art and culture accessible to all. Through the app, users can learn more about countless works of art, including the more than 200 public works of art found across all of JHU’s campuses.

In the lobby, a 25-foot-long donor wall honors more than 120  organizations and individuals that made the project possible. Their names were engraved on inlaid metal panels, then paint-filled for a striking contrast.

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