Lake Valley Camp

Boscobel, Wisconsin

Lake Valley Camp is the private endeavor of a prominent Milwaukee business leader to provide a unique camp experience designed to increase the chance for success of high potential youth from risk-filled environments.  The camp is set on 650 acres in Southwest Wisconsin.  Lake Valley Camp was designed to accommodate 160 children in three distinct age brackets, 8 to 11 year olds, 12 to 14 year olds and 15 to 18 year olds with the 18 year old campers being invited back to become counselors for the younger campers.

The camp itself is a series of 29 various structures spread throughout a scenic rural valley.  The camp is designed to provide five distinct areas for a variety of activities.  These areas are for Dining / Administrative, Boy’s Community, Girl’s Community, Explorer’s Community, Leadership Lodge and the Activity Area.

The structures were designed to be contextual with the natural landscape and the established buildings predominant in the area.  Our design focused the gothic arched style barns that are prevalent throughout the region, one of which is located on the property.  We took the arched barn motif and created our main Dining Hall as the focal point of the camp.  This is the first building that all the campers visit to receive their initial introduction to Counselors and Medical Staff.

Our main goal in the design of the buildings was to make each of them functional as well as flexible.  Through a close working relationship with the camp director, we were able implement most of, if not all of his desired amenities.  We created Cabins that provide small gathering areas as well as establish a larger community setting.  The Dining Hall is flexible enough to serve multiple functions and the Program Pavilion can be open or closed, and used as a large gather space or divided for small groups depending on changing needs.  Attention to each of these issues contributed to the overall success of the project.