The Baker Demonstration School’s current main entrance lacked a strong presence or identity after converting from a higher education campus. The entrance and administrative area is inadequately designed to meet security standards or functional needs, and it does not portray the school’s ideals or vision established in a recently completed Campus Master Plan prepared by The Lakota Group.
Bailey Edward examined potential improvements to the building’s ‘Arrival Sequence’ – main entrance, lobby, front office areas, and campus welcoming area – to enhance security and provide a more useful and inviting allocation of space. Exterior entryway canopies direct people into the school and into the new ‘living room’ concept that expresses Baker’s values of progressive excellence, partnership, individuality, wholeness, and diversity. The new lobby space utilizes texture, materials, shape and pops of color to encourage students, parents, and faculty to linger. The Baker Parent Organization space was relocated from the second floor into the space and across from the entry to promote increased parental involvement. A new lobby information desk, improved sightlines, and central entry point improve security. Large windows help connect the space to the outdoor learning and play areas, a key component in Baker’s experiential learning model, and help seamlessly integrate with potential site improvements, nature paths, sport fields, and drop off areas.
Bailey Edward provided a thoughtful, innovative approach to resolving existing site issues while incorporating the values outlined in the Campus Master Plan. The well-defined entry brings the school’s brand to the curb and usher parents and students into the more welcoming and secure front lobby. Bailey Edward’s plans and renderings along with Lakota’s masterplan enabled the school to successfully obtain funding from the Baker community. Timing of the planned campus improvements will help the school celebrate its 10th year as an independent organization (2016) and the 100th year since its founding in 1918.
