The new Student Center and expanded Children’s Wing is the design team’s third design phase for Bay Area Community Church. Special care was taken to create a cohesive building design that fits the design language established in the first two phases.
Embracing a “warehouse” concept adopted by the student ministry, the Student Center addition was designed to foster a connection between interior and exterior spaces and create engaging and relational spaces for youth. The new addition redefines the first impression visitors have as they drive up, creating a new, inviting identity for the east entrance of the church.
The Children’s Wing addition on the west side of the building adds needed classroom space and a special 4th/5th Grade room arranged to serve two functions: large group worship utilizing the stage, video, and lighting, and small group time where children sit at restaurant-style booths with a leader for discussion and crafts. Fitting in with the children’s ministry’s “underwater” theme, the room was designed to resemble the inside of a submarine.
