The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University has unveiled plans for the institute’s home in Baltimore, designed by world-renowned architecture firm Renzo Piano Building Workshop. The new structure on the university’s Homewood campus promises to represent the mission and values of the institute as well as the creativity and vibrancy of the university and the city.
Renzo Piano envisions the building portraying the story of the institute’s work, symbolizing a portal to connect it to the community beyond its walls. The design features two “floating” glass structures to embody the Institute’s commitment to transparency and openness—and to ensure that the community can see into the building, and that the researchers and others working inside can look out to the broader world.