Designed to foster collaboration for one of the world’s most admired companies, the new headquarters also gives back to the city by transforming a brownfield site and reestablishing a connection between the city and the waterfront.
KPF is pleased to announce the completion of the T. Rowe Price Headquarters, a new state-of-the-art workplace for the Baltimore-based investment management firm. The new building defines KPF’s approach to designing carefully crafted, high-performing buildings that elevate their surroundings. As cities worldwide reconsider the relationship between office buildings and the public realm, the T. Rowe Price headquarters stands as a case study in forward-thinking, and contextually grounded corporate architecture.
“The design of the T. Rowe Price Headquarters takes what would traditionally be a 16-20-story tower and turns it into two distinct, lower-scale buildings connected by an ‘urban living room’ and greenspace that reintegrates the city with the waterfront,” said Jeffrey Kenoff, FAIA, KPF Design Principal. “Converting Harbor Point from a brownfield site created new opportunities to restore pedestrian fluidity along the city’s edge. Through a set of principles that would seek value around re-connecting a community to its place as well as redefining a flexible and future thinking workplace for the next generation, the T. Rowe Price Headquarters revitalizes the harbor front and sets a new standard for extending a city’s urban fabric.”
“T. Rowe Price’s headquarters is an important building for our firm,” said Forth Bagley, AIA, KPF Managing Principal. “It demonstrates our commitment to cities and to working with partners like Beatty Development and T. Rowe Price to create architecture that is impactful for both our clients and the urban fabric.”
“At Harbor Point, our goal has been to build upon the shoreline’s industrial history and look towards the future; creating a built environment along the waterfront that shapes a path for sustainable growth in Baltimore,” said Michael Beatty, President of Beatty Development. “We believe projects like the T. Rowe Price Headquarters are exemplary of the potential in this city and what’s to come for Baltimore.”
A Workplace of the Future for T. Rowe Price
One of Maryland’s most significant companies, T. Rowe Price was founded in Baltimore in 1937 and had previously occupied a 1970s office building downtown. As the firm grew and evolved, it required a new headquarters that would support the next generation of work through flexibility, amenities, wellness, technology integration, and sustainability. Committed to its home city, it was critical that the company remain in Baltimore and that its new home contribute positively to the city’s urban growth.
Rather than a modern rehash of the traditional, multi-story office tower–a stacked arrangement not conducive to corporate community building–KPF broke down the project’s scale to enable a cutting-edge workplace and thoughtful urban space. The headquarters is comprised of two nine-story buildings that provide flexibility for the workspace within, while a central atrium enables connectivity among colleagues. Designed to accommodate both large gatherings and smaller group interactions, the atrium is scaled to accommodate mature trees and features column-free suspension bridges that span the room, offering views of the waterfront and itself serving as a space for interactions among colleagues.
Carrying Forward Baltimore’s Urban Vernacular
Reflecting a deep engagement with Baltimore’s architectural heritage, the building’s façade balances scale, materiality, and sustainability. A series of two-story bays breaks down the massing, ensuring an approachable presence. In contrast to a typical all-glass façade, the refined material palette of grey metal and glass echoes T. Rowe Price’s legacy of sound financial stewardship. The wall design is inspired by Baltimore’s urban vernacular, while the use of recycled and locally sourced materials reduces the project’s environmental footprint.
“The design intentionally blurs the line between the architecture, the interior arrival, and the surrounding landscape, encouraging the user to experience all facets of the project at once as they move through the spaces,” said Jeffrey Kenoff, FAIA, Design Principal.
A Sustainable Brownfield Redevelopment
Located on a reclaimed brownfield site, the T. Rowe Price Headquarters is part of a larger effort to revitalize Baltimore’s industrial waterfront into a vibrant extension of the city. Over the past 40 years, the city has been reshaping its harbor, transforming the abandoned area into an active destination for locals and visitors. Harbor Point’s redevelopment marks a new chapter for this part of the waterfront defined by place, connectivity, and community. The new building integrates publicly accessible space on site, connecting to a larger waterfront walking trail and adjacent 4.5-acre Point Park.
Designed with an emphasis on environmental responsibility, the T. Rowe Price Headquarters includes several sustainable design strategies. The building is oriented to optimize daylighting and reduce reliance on artificial lighting, while high-performance façades mitigate solar heat gain. A rainwater harvesting system supplies 82% of the building’s sanitary water needs, and low-flow fixtures reduce indoor water use by 40%. Shaded outdoor spaces, passive cooling techniques, and strategic landscaping contribute to a more comfortable pedestrian experience and improve the urban microclimate.
KPF Expertise
The T. Rowe Price Headquarters is one of several recent projects in KPF’s portfolio of buildings for major corporations around the world, including TP-Link’s Lianzhou Building in Shenzhen, China; the Ziraat Bank Headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey; and the Comcentre Redevelopment in Singapore, which provides a new headquarters for Singtel.
Read the full press release here.