The
120,000 sf Welcome Center and Children’s Building is located in Downtown
Jacksonville, Florida. It is part of an 11 city block campus owned by First
Baptist Church. This $14 million facility serves as the front door to the
campus for members as well as visitors.
Its
tall spire serves as an identification and way-finding especially for visitors
from many blocks away. The building uses the same brick material matching with
other buildings on the existing campus.
The
large open but yet friendly Lobby serves as a welcome area for visitors. A
reception desk is conveniently located at each entrance to receive guests
entering from different directions. However, the majority of the spaces in the
building are devoted to children, such as classrooms, multi-purpose rooms,
theater, snack bar, sports court, and entertainment areas. All these spaces
have state of the art equipment and carry children’s themes that promote
learning. Moving robots help make the Bible-learning fun.