Since 2019, the firm has designed a number of protected entryways for Anne Arundel County Public Schools.
Parents send their children off to school each morning in the belief that they will return home safe. Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects is helping Anne Arundel County Public Schools to provide that peace of mind by designing security vestibules for many of its buildings.
The vestibules allow visitors to enter a lobby that is closed off from the rest of the school by a set of lockable doors. Visitors must be granted clearance before passing through the locked doors and into the main building.
M&D is wrapping up a vestibule design for a seventh school in Anne Arundel County, with four more in the works.
A secure entrance
Architectural Designer Bryan Wright – joined the initial project as construction administrator after the designs were complete and now leads the M&D design team for subsequent efforts. The Anne Arundel projects began to take off in 2019, starting with elementary schools.
“They just want their reception/entrance areas to be better secured, to give them a few extra minutes to identify problems with suspect people,” says Wright. “They’re not bulletproof; it’s not Fort Knox. It just gives the staff more time.”
In addition to improving security, the vestibules help schools manage climate control and keep winter air from chilling hallways.
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“With kids going in or out, you don’t want cold air blasting the corridor,” Wright says.
Each school has presented unique challenges, and M&D looks for the best design methods to make the entrances more secure. At the beginning of the process, a school submits an existing-conditions plan, which allows the Architects to envision the scope of the work needed.
Schematic designs explore possible vestibule locations, develop control function options, and outline any mechanical and electrical work that will need to be performed. The vestibules typically take three months to construct, often while students are out of school for the summer.
The most challenging part of the process, says Wright, has been identifying issues without affecting the flow of traffic when school is in session.
Matching the aesthetic
In choosing materials and finalizing designs, Wright and his team strive to match a school’s materials, finishes and aesthetics - and work with existing door buzzers, locks, hardware, and existing systemic processes.
When M&D designs new schools, such as in Baltimore County, security vestibules are incorporated into the original design plans.
M&D also has designed a security vestibule for other nonprofit organizations – such as the main entrance lobby at Crispus Attucks York. The community organization’s main building, which houses a charter school and after-school and summer enrichment programs, needed a more secure entrance. M&D was there to help.
“I think it makes everyone feel that their children are safer,” says Wright, “and I like being a part of that.”
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