Design

The evening, unlike the two men it celebrated, was a glitzy affair. Interior designers Jay Jenkins and Alexander Baer -- known for the understated elegance of their designs -- threw what may well be the Party of the Year to commemorate Jenkins' taking over the design firm Alexander Baer Associates from his old friend and mentor. The event was held last month at the Baltimore Museum of Art, where Baer is a trustee. There were almost 500 guests: past and present clients of the two designers, tradespeople they work with, friends and staff.

ANNAPOLIS -- When New Zealand's flat-hulled racing yacht beat its Italian opponent by 76 seconds in recent America's Cup trials, George Hazen of Annapolis could take at least some of the credit.It was Mr. Hazen's computer program that was used to design the million-dollar sailing vessel, dubbed New Zealand, which was among about a dozen yachts participating in the trials off San Diego.The outcome of those contests will determine which yachts compete in the America's Cup, the premier sporting event of the sailing elite, when it begins in May.Mr.

WASHINGTON -- The architects who designed a new Korean War veterans memorial say federal bureaucrats "brutally changed" their design and intend to build a "radically different" memorial that "glorifies war."An official of the American Battle Monuments Commission, defending the changes, said control over the design belonged to the government, not the architects.The fight over the memorial, which is to be built near the heart of the Washington Mall, is becoming a battle over the way in which the Korean War will be remembered.

The University of Maryland has selected an architectural team to design a $45 million Medical Biotechnology Center downtown.Davis, Brody & Associates, a nationally known design firm based in New York City, was selected last week to be the lead architect for the facility, to be constructed in the shell of the former Hutzler's department store warehouse on Lombard Street just east of Martin Luther King Boulevard.Davis, Brody will be working on the 200,000-square-foot project in a joint venture with Edmunds & Hyde Architects of Baltimore and the Boston-based engineering firm of BR+A, among others.

I've long been distressed by the failure of American business to realize the strategic potential of design -- and appalled by how many items are pitifully designed. Put bluntly, I believe that in a crowded marketplace design may be the most potent tool for differentiating one's products or services.I love well-designed items: Federal Express air bills; Ingersoll-Rand's Cyclone Grinder (a hand-held tool that, for example, removes burrs from engine-block castings); my fabulous new Le Creuset corkscrew (among other things, courtesy of an ingenious bit of gearing, one easy flip at the end of the process ejects the cork)

Morison Cousins keeps a collection of ordinary things on his shelf at Tupperware Worldwide Headquarters in Kissimmee, Fla. There are two plastic sugar bowls, several cameras, a water pitcher and a few napkin holders, plus whatever else he has recently picked up.To Mr. Cousins, none of it is ordinary. He picks up the white water pitcher and traces the lip with his finger, showing curves that weren't obvious. The pitcher suddenly looks extravagant."Beautiful lines," Mr. Cousins said, admiring his find.

The ability to create illusions has always been one of the strongest tools available to an interior designer.While it's generally true that form should follow function, sometimes a bit of fantasy is needed to make a room come truly alive. In fact, if it weren't for the various design techniques that alter perception of space, we might all be living in white, box-like rooms filled with only the most functional furnishings.A skilled designer is able, through subtle touches, to produce an atmosphere that's conducive to work, play or relaxation.

A Harrisburg, Pa., firm has been selected by the county to design the proposed $27 million minimum-security jail in Glen Burnie.Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates, which won the $1.01 million contract over two other companies, designed Anne Arundel's correctional system master plan last year. That plan includes the proposed Ordnance Road jail and the subsequent $20 million renovation of the jail on Jennifer Road near Annapolis.The firm also designed the controversial expansion of the Jennifer Road jail, a plan that was abandoned in late 1993.

When the Volvo Ocean Race comes to Annapolis in the spring, G. Russell Bowler will have a particular reason to be thrilled to see the boats sail up the bay. His firm, Farr Yacht Design, dreamed up the designs for four of the seven boats competing, including the only American boat - the Disney-sponsored Pirates of the Caribbean. This year's boats will be different than those in previous Volvo Ocean Races. New design parameters announced in September 2003 allow the boats to be longer - 70 feet rather than 60 feet, and allow an unlimited number of appendages (advanced-sail-design speak for keels, rudders and other things that hang off the bottom of the boat)