Modernizing Baker Elementary: PWA’s New Building Design Brings Innovation and Cohesion to San Diego School Campus

“School is a building which has four walls with tomorrow inside.” – Lon Watters

PWA is creating a new tomorrow for Baker Elementary School in San Diego’s Mountain View community. The neighborhood school will move into the latest addition to its campus in November 2026. We feel fortunate to have provided the initial architectural assessment as well as full architectural services for the whole-site modernization project on this school campus.

Baker Elementary History

Originally built in 1963, Baker Elementary added three additional, modernized buildings in 2002. One major architectural challenge was how to add another building onto the campus to coexist with some buildings that are decades old while also reflecting the architectural character of the newer buildings and tying everything together.

New Design

We decided the new building would incorporate some of the lines from the 1960’s building and the roofing system from the 2000’s building to be cohesive and look intentional.

The new building will be a major focal point of the neighborhood. It’s situated next to a park and includes attractive features and amenities:

• A stunning main entrance with a lobby/reception and 20-foot, open ceilings
• A back patio for staff
• Open space

Our work also includes:

• Improvements to existing building systems, including security and safety upgrades
• A photovoltaic system for 100% of the site load
• Improvements to existing interior and exterior space
• Removal of excess portable classroom buildings

Architectural Solutions

We had to overcome some significant hurdles, a very constrained site being chief among them. Multiple easements cut across the property at many different angles. As such, we were limited in where we could build. Because the easements were so old, they were also outdated and, in some instances, not properly placed. We had to revisit a gamut of issues with the City of San Diego to address these points.

We also had to provide solutions for challenges the school wanted to overcome.

The large population of special education students on the campus inspired a range of our architectural strategies. We designed several break-out spaces, conference rooms and settings to cater to these students.

While completion is still a few years away, we are proud of our work in this community. We’re ensuring the school has not only four walls, but also provides a special place for tomorrow for so many wonderful students.