Stantec and Design Collective were engaged by Johns Hopkins University to design Technology Ventures, an innovation hub located in Baltimore, Maryland.

In an effort to provide Baltimore’s growing innovation scene with much needed office, co-working and wet lab space, Johns Hopkins University Technology Ventures sought to create a state-of-the-art innovation hub to serve the needs of area start-ups. Located at the heart of the EBDI Science & Technology Park, the 37,000 SF facility encompasses two floors of collaborative workspace with 17,000 SF dedicated to start-up labs, 8,000 SF of office space for start-ups, and 12,000 SF of office space for entrepreneurial advisors. The project represented a tremendous opportunity for Stantec to design a dynamic landmark facility and shared work environment that physically embodies the organization’s mission and leadership role in the commercialization of emerging technologies.

The design of the FastForward Hub is representative of its immediate context. Gritty and raw, the space takes on an urban, industrial aesthetic that mirrors the industrial buildings that surround it and the fabric of East Baltimore, a start-up space for start-ups. By contrast, the space for the staff has a more refined feel, suggesting a more permanent tenant and the natural evolution from idea to execution. Both spaces come together in the café and assembly spaces, designed as a flexible, scalable space that can suit the needs of both constituencies. In this space, both start-ups and established businesses commune and collide, taking advantage of the open, relaxed atmosphere of the café and the state of the art infrastructure of the large assembly spaces.

Designer: Stantec

Architect of Record: Design Collective

Photography: Jennifer Hughes

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