Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

VMA Completes Baldwin School Innovation Center Adaptive Reuse Project

  • By Matt Jones
  • 04/11/23

Voith and Mactavish Architects recently announced the completion of an adaptive reuse project at The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, Penn. According to a project narrative, the firm converted a poolhouse into an interdisciplinary and collaborative education center. The Baldwin School is an all-girls’ school for students PreK–12, and the narrative explains that one fundamental challenge of the project was to make the space safe and accessible for students of all ages.

VMA Baldwin School Innovation Center
Image courtesy of Voith and Mactavish Architects

The original building covered roughly 3,500 square feet and served mainly as an open space with an excavated pool. The pool itself was converted into a sunken seating area accessible by steps or a ramp.

The purpose of the project was to create a new space where students can learn, make, and share. The space also offers flexible tables and seating to allow for an infinite array of easy reconfigurations. It includes storage, whiteboards, and display space at lower levels for younger students, as well as a makerspace with 3D printers and crafting tools for older students.

Finishes include neutral colors and materials like a wood flooring and ceiling to create a clean, orderly, dynamic space. The space features white surfaces with blue detail, combined with bright colorful cushions spaced throughout for a pop of color. The space also includes an adjacent courtyard patio accessible through French doors that visually connects the space with the rest of the campus and also filling the interior with natural light.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Colorado School District Breaks Ground on Unified PK–12 Campus

    The Haxtun School District No. Re-2J in Haxtun, Colo., recently announced that ground has been broken on a renovation/addition project that will unite its two schools, Haxtun Elementary and Haxtun Jr/Sr High School, according to a news release.

  • Deferred Maintenance Issues Growing at Universities, Gordian Reports

    U.S. colleges and universities are falling increasingly behind on facilities maintenance and repair, according to Gordian’s 13th annual State of Facilities in Higher Education report. The deferred capital renewal burden has reached $156 per gross square foot, an 8% increase over the previous year.

  • Universities Continue to Launch Multimillion-Dollar Campus Transformations

    What makes the current wave of campus development especially noteworthy is its emphasis on multi-use functionality and community integration. Institutions are no longer investing solely in academic or athletic facilities in isolation. Instead, they are creating destinations that blend recreation, health, housing, and event-driven economic activity.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.