The Blake School

U+B was hired by the Blake School in 2014 to provide master planning and full architectural and interior design services for their Hopkins Campus. With an educational foundation based upon the lessons of the Reggio Emilia philosophy, the administration is focused on providing a greater sense of community and connectivity between students and educators while still providing an environment for self-directed and independent learning.

The $32 million dollar project will be phased over a period of 6 years and will include mechanical, electrical, and life-safety infrastructure work, classroom redesign, a new parking and entry sequence, redesign of the performing arts theater (completed in 2016) and a new dining facility. Critical to the design throughout has been the creation of a fully accessible campus, knitting together a poorly connected series of buildings spanning in age by over 100 years. In an effort to preserve the existing architectural fabric of the campus and to present the most sustainable solution, the U+B team has made thoughtful decisions to adapt existing space into a 21st century learning environment.
An essential guiding component of the project is a reconfiguration and understanding of the drop off and pick up sequence within the complex configuration of the campus.