Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center

The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center started planning prior to the Newseum’s (a public museum devoted to journalism) closing in 2019 and developed into a building serving as an interdisciplinary educational and event center for the university and the public. Rockwell Group worked with Ennead Architects and SmithGroup to renovate the interior into a “vertical quad”, distributing 38 classrooms, a library, a multimedia studio, 26 study rooms, three floors of conference center space, workspaces, a banquet hall, a fitness center and a 370-seat theater around the building’s central atrium.

The theater’s primary use is for lectures and classes, as well as accommodating the music and dance programs of the Peabody Institute. The variety of uses is facilitated with state-of-the-art technology, including a new theatrical lighting system, theatrical rigging, seating, audio system, a large LED video wall, and an electronic orchestra shell system. The electronic orchestra shell system is integrated into architecture and can be quickly deployed without the need for large and costly on-stage orchestra shell system.

The renovated building offers convening spaces for experts, policymakers, and academic and policy leaders within a collaborative learning and working environment. The atrium of the building features a cascading “room stair”, a “room bridge”, a “beach” for informal gathering, and pre-function spaces to support the theater for receiving, welcoming, and gathering.