Little Robins Nursery

We were approached to design and plan the reconfiguration of two nurseries so that the interior and exterior spaces are better utilised to provide all the necessary areas required to operate a nursery for the local community.

With an increase in demand for nursery facilities in their respective neighbourhoods, design interventions were required to better utilise the buildings to their maximum capacity and provide quality spaces to nurture a learning environment. In this post, we’ll look closely at the design process for one of these designs.

Design Aims

We began the design process by discussing with the clients what they hoped to achieve from working with an architect and what ideas and visions they had. Some of the key ideas from the clients were:

• To Improve the views and connections between the classrooms and the playground by enlarging the existing openings with french doors and bifold doors.

• To improve the tight corridors, particularly in the entrance area or perhaps remove them all together.

• To make better use of some of the underused areas of the building, particularly in the first floor loft space, and in the large storage outbuilding and log cabin which are separated from the main building.

• Provide additional classroom areas for children of different ages.

  
  

Green - Office / Blue - W.C. / Purple - Kitchen / Orange - Storage Space / Yellow - Log Cabin

Design Approach

Our design approach was to reconfigure the existing ground floor to create bigger rooms which could host multiple activities. These bigger rooms eliminated the existing entry corridor ensuring better access to the building entrance and between the interior spaces. More glazing and exterior doors provide views and connections to the exterior spaces. We have proposed to move the log cabin classroom to become part of the play area and be used as an outdoor learning space. In the cabin’s place, we proposed to build a small extension to accommodate bigger office space that would link the main building and the garage which we have proposed as classroom and storage space.

On the first floor we proposed a dormer roof to create increased interior space which will accommodate sleeping space for the nursery's youngest.

The design proposal creates all the necessary spaces for the nursery to operate with increased numbers and meets the design aims the clients had hoped to achieve. We have pitched our design idea to the client who has given very positive feedback. We will post any further updates in the near future.