Ayers Saint Gross, Architects and Planners is an architectural firm in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, U.S. specializing in master plans and building designs for

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

institutions.Walker, Childs. “Expansion of Baltimore architectural firm fueled by focus on colleges,” ''"Baltimore Sun"'', August 8, 2011Gunts, Edward. “Getting to be big firm on campus,” ''"Baltimore Sun"'', March 5, 2000. The firm is described as maintaining “a narrower focus on college and university work than any other in the country.” Since the 1980s, Ayers Saint Gross has become a long-term adviser to universities including Harvard, Johns Hopkins and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Firm’s academic projects range from

campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...

master plans to classroom buildings, laboratories, performing arts centers and law and business schools. The firm employs about 130 professionals and is organized into studios specializing in planning, academic and student life facilities, landscape architecture, environmental signage and graphic design. Based in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, the firm was known for institutional and residential projects until the 1980s when it specialized in the "design and planning for non-profit institutions, with a specific focus on higher education." The current president is Luanne Greene, FAIA, LEED AP.asg-architwects.com/firm/people/

History

Ayers Saint Gross is the successor firm to Sill, Buckler & Fenhagen, founded in 1912 and known as the designer of

Baltimore City College Baltimore City College, known colloquially as City, City College, and B.C.C., is a college preparatory school with a liberal arts focus and selective admissions criteria located in Baltimore, Maryland. Opened in October 1839, B.C.C. is the thir ...

, the third oldest public high school in America, founded downtown in 1839, and having occupied eight different locations in its now 175-year-old history. Some of City College's earlier buildings were landmark structures in their era, built by several famous local architects of the time. Buckler & Fenhagen won the national competition in the 1920s with their design for their landmark stone

Collegiate Gothic Collegiate Gothic is an architectural style subgenre of Gothic Revival architecture, popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries for college and high school buildings in the United States and Canada, and to a certain extent Europ ...

"Castle on the Hill" on the highest hilltop in the northeast section of Baltimore overlooking the downtown skyline to the south. Built at a cost of over $2.4 million, during 1924-1928, the "Castle" still serves a magnet college preparatory high school that focuses on the humanities, liberal arts, social studies and the classics and is traditionally one of the best performing student body in the state. As a humorous note, carved limestone faces of both architects are placed as small stone " gargoyles" on either side of a large central window over the front entrance. In 1938, the original partners hired Richard “Dick” Ayers, whose employment was interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when he served in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

and toured

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

as a member of the "Strategic Bombing Survey". Ayers returned to Buckler and Fenhagen after the war and in 1955, he and Julius Meyer took over the firm. They were joined later by Kelsey Saint, a

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

classmate, and the partners went on to design Shriver Hall, the Newton White Athletic Center and the

Milton S. Eisenhower Library The Homewood Campus is the main academic and administrative center of the Johns Hopkins University. It is located at 3400 North Charles Street in Baltimore, Maryland. It houses the two major undergraduate schools: the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts a ...

on the " Homewood" campus of

The Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consiste ...

. In 1984, Adam Gross was also recruited to the Firm. Under his leadership, "Ayers Saint Gross" became one of the most honored design studios in Maryland. Gross and principal Jim Wheeler, who joined the firm in 1987, repositioned the firm to focus on college and university work. They based this shift on the growing need for campus design expertise in response to the children of "baby boomers" flooding higher education. That strategy led to the firm’s rapid growth. The firm opened offices in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

, and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

as a result of various work projects for universities in those locations. Today, the Baltimore office of "Ayers Saint Gross" is headquartered in an old

Procter and Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational Final good, consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter (industrialist), William Procter and James Gamble (industr ...

soap-making factory, renovated into an office park named "Tide Point" on the southside of the City’s "

Inner Harbor The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and landmark of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. It was described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as "the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world". The ...

Work

Projects include the new National Library for George Washington at

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

, near

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, the master plan for the re-use of the historic St. Elizabeths Hospital campus in

D.C. Department of Transportation and D.C. Office of Planning
and master plans for

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

Kapsidelis, Karin. “VCU begins work on new master plan,” November 11, 2011.
the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

health sciences campus
Fried, Ina. “Looking ahead to 2035, USC maps out plan for campus,” ''"The USC Weekly"'', March 5, 2010
and new campuses in Asia.

Sustainable design

In 2011, "Ayers Saint Gross" was ranked by ''"Engineering News Record"'' as 33 out of the "Top 100 Green Design Firms"
Engineering News Record
Its projects are designed to meet standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council under its "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design", (LEED) program. About 70 percent of the firm’s architects are LEED-accredited
Landscape Online
"Ayers Saint Gross" designs to LEED Silver standards and has exceeded this rating on some projects, such as the Thomas Jefferson Visitors Center at "

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

"
Thomas Jefferson Foundation
At

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

, the architects have designed several freshman residence halls to make use of rainwater harvesting and condensation reclamation
Carlson, Scott. “New Buildings at Emory U. and Furman U. Use Innovative Technology for Sustainability.” ''"Chronicle of Higher Education"''. May 23, 2008 King, W. Scott, “Come Rain or Shine,” ''"Architect"'' magazine, September 2008.
The firm has recently designed the John and Frances Angelos Law Center for the

University of Baltimore The University of Baltimore (UBalt, UB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. UBalt's schools and colleges provide education in business, law, public affairs, and the applied arts and sc ...

, undertaken in partnership with Behnisch Architekten of

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, to be the first completely LEED Platinum-certified law school building in the United States
CityBiz Real Estate, February 15, 2012

Notable plans and buildings

*Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy,

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, Baltimore, Maryland, 1990 *

"Campus Master Plan", Baltimore, Maryland, 2000 *Darden Graduate School of Business Administration,

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, Charlottesville, Virginia, 200
“Darden Graduate School of Business Administration,” 2002
*

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, "Campus Master Plan", Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 2006 *School of Nursing,

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

, Durham, North Carolina, 200

*Rutgers School of Law-Camden, Camden, NJ, 2008 Rutgers School of Law–Camden, Camden @ Rutgers School of Law *

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Allston Campus, Boston, Massachusetts, 200
Ni, Nan and Viswanathan, Vidya B., “Harvard Shows Revised Allston Plan to Residents,” The Harvard Crimson, October 23, 2008.
*

Missouri Botanical Garden The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder and philanthropist Henry Shaw. Its herbarium, with more than 6.6 million spe ...

Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center, 202

*

Wilmer Eye Institute The Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute, also referred to as the Wilmer Eye Institute, is a component of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Ophthalmologist William Holland Wilmer opened the Wilmer Eye Institute in 1925. Its home was co ...

, Baltimore, Maryland, 200
Gunts, Edward. “New Wilmer Building Boosts Eye Research,” ''"Baltimore Sun"'', June 9, 2009
* Thomas Jefferson Visitors Center & Smith Education Center, "

", Charlottesville, Virginia, 200
Dietsch, Deborah K. “Monticello’s New Visitor Center,” ''"Washington Times"'', April 12, 2009
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', April 9, 2009. *Art and Design Building,

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

, Fairfax, Virginia, 2010 *Freshman residence halls at

, Atlanta, Georgia, 2007-201
Carlson, Scott. “New Buildings at Emory U. and Furman U. Use Innovative Technology for Sustainability.” *''"Chronicle of Higher Education"''. May 23, 2008 King, W. Scott, “Come Rain or Shine,” ''"Architect"'' magazine, September 2008.
* "Innovation District Master Plan" (including the Wexford Innovation Center)

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, 2017-2019

References

{{Reflist, 2

Sources

Ayers Saint Gross website

External links

Gunts, Edward. "Proposed downtown arena gets private financing commitment," ''The Baltimore Sun'', Wednesday, May 25, 2011.

Walker, Childs. "Expansion of Baltimore architectural firm fueled by focus on colleges," ''The Baltimore Sun'', Tuesday, August 9, 2011.
Architects from Maryland Architecture firms based in Maryland Companies based in Baltimore Design companies established in 1912 1912 establishments in Maryland