Detailed Design Phase
In this phase, your architect will take your ideas and integrate them into a more formal set of plans, along with detailed construction specifications. They include measurements, location of storage, toilets, windows, cubbies, samples of lighting, paint colours, carpet samples, cupboard materials, detailed design of the outdoor space and play equipment. For example, s/he will produce specifications for the mechanical systems (plumbing, heating), the electrical system, the types of materials to be used and other specific design features. This is where it's very important to get involved in the details!
There are a number of challenges in the design process; child care staff and architects often don't understand each other's language. Child care staff may know little about design principles and have little experience reading schematic drawings, while architects may know little about child development and the elements of an environment necessary to stimulate children's curiosity and exploration in a child-friendly space.
Some of the pitfalls in the design process are outlined in the article: Designing Quality Child Care Facilities by Vicki L. Stoecklin and Randy White: http://www.whitehutchinson.com/children/articles/designing1.shtml.
Design Guidelines
In the discussion of Developing the Functional Program, we raised a lot of questions for you to think about when planning your ideal space. If you have already met, discussed and explored the answers to these questions, you will be in a good position to engage with your architect during the detailed design stage.
Here are ten useful design guidelines to use as benchmarks, followed by references to useful resources:
- Design the space for children. Furnishings and fixtures should be scaled to children's height and appeal to their interests. Make sure that the design includes low counters; child-sized sinks and toilets in all the classrooms; low shelves so that children can access books, toys and puzzles independently.
- Design the space to support teachers and staff. In addition, to child-sized furnishings and equipment, provide adult-height classroom work surfaces, sink, storage, phones and seating. Design areas where staff can meet, relax and do preparation away from the children.
- Design for parents too. Let parents know they are welcome; make sure the space is convenient for them to use by providing storage areas for car seats and strollers. Also think about whether you want the parents to help undress the children or whether this will be a classroom activity. If you want parents to help, then position the cubbies outside the classrooms. If possible, provide a parent resource room or area where parenting resources can be placed; include a quiet seating area for parents to spend time with their child before they go into the classroom, as well as private places to meet with staff.
- Purchase quality furnishings, finishings and materials when possible. They will last longer and improve the look and feel of the space.
- Be explicit about colour. The current thinking about colour is that it should be soft in children's classrooms; brighter colour can be introduced in children's classrooms through artwork on walls and suspended from ceilings, the toys and equipment, children's clothes and projects. Provide a restful backdrop by using warm colours, natural wood, flooring, wood furniture and cubbies - don't make it institutional though by just painting white everywhere. Bolder colours can exist in hallways and ancillary areas.
Insist on good lighting: Lighting is critically important for shaping children's experiences. Always maximize the number of windows and ensure a range of natural and artificial light. Classrooms should be able to control their own light with dimmers.
- Control sound: This is one of the most important elements. Often, new centres will incorporate dramatic features such as large open spaces, high ceilings; but this can produce high noise levels when filled with active children. Think also about adjacencies, e.g. don't put an infant room next to a gross motor area; loud mechanical rooms should be not be near classrooms. If you decide to install "pods" or shared spaces, such as washrooms, make sure there are sound buffers between.
- Provide accessible washrooms: Children's washrooms should be directly accessible from classrooms;
if you're renovating an existing space, consider the feasibility of adding washrooms so they are closer to the children.
There's nothing worse than having to escort a long line of children from the washroom, because you don't have the staffing to allow them to go alone, or within sight. On the other hand, make sure there is a buffer between the classrooms and the toilets - sometimes the smell can be overwhelming.
- Ensure adequate water in classrooms: So much of children's activities involves water or cleaning up from their naturally messy activities, that having a ready source of water is critical.
Bring the outdoors inside: Include a bay window with a window seat to allow a child to sit protected from the elements to reinforce the connection to the outdoors. Plant an interesting butterfly garden or put a bird feeder near a window where children can sit and watch nature in different seasons. Make sure there are plenty of windows at child height so that children can see out all day. If you are building a new building, locate the classrooms around the perimeter so that all classrooms can have plenty of light and the children can have easy outdoor access.
Detailed drawings which set out all of the requirements for the program such as measurements, location of storage, toilets, windows, cubbies, size and height, etc along with samples of lighting, paint colors, carpet samples, cupboard materials, detail design of the outdoor space and play equipment (design development) are completed and approved in order that construction documents can be prepared for tendering. During the construction stage the architect is available to interpret drawings when necessary and propose modifications, if needed. You want to keep modifications to a minimum as they cost money!
The following suggestions are taken (with permission) from a presentation by Deb Curtis and Margie Carter, adapted from Designs for Living and Learning: Transforming Early Childhood Environments, St. Paul: Redleaf Press, 2003:
Assess your Environment from a Baby's Perspective
Draw a quick sketch of the floor plan of your infant or toddler room. Get an image of a baby who spends her/his days in your room. Imagine this baby's point of view and use the following number codes to assess the room. Put the numerals for each item below where it can be found on your floor plan.
- Put a 1 in all the places where I can see myself and my family and what I like to do in the program and at home.
- Put a 2 in all the places where people in my family can feel at home, relaxed and respected in the room.
- Put a 3 in all the places where I can easily develop relationships with special time, sharing and enjoyment between me, caregivers and other children.
- Put a 4 in all the places where there are sensory discoveries and experiences for me to engage with. Where can i explore different textures, pools of light, colour, shadows, smells and sounds?
- Put a 5 in all the places I can climb, crawl, push, pull, slide, bounce, hide, throw, go up/down, up/over, in/out, etc.
- Put a 6 in all the places where I can use my hands and fingers to grasp, bang, poke, stack, shake, squeeze, pat, pour, fit something together, and take something apart.
Put a 7 in all the places that are soft and cozy and I can get away from the group to rest or observe.- Put an 8 in all the places where I can feel powerful, independent, important, and competent.
- Put a 9 in all of the places where I can learn about my caregiver, what she likes and who is her family.
Assess your Room from a Child's Point of View
Drawa floor plan of your room. Imagine a child walking through it in search of things that s/he finds comforting, engaging, and helpful in building relationships and learning new things.
- Put a 1 everywhere I can see who I am and what I like to do here and at home.
- Put a 2 in all the places where my tired mommy or daddy, grandma or auntie can sit comfortably and talk with me or my teacher or other families in the program.
- Put a 3 in all the places where there are materials I can use to make things from my understandings and imagination.
- Put a 4 in all the places where the natural world can be found here (i.e. nature objects and animals).
- Put a 5 in all the places where there is something sparkly, shadowy and/or creates a feeling of magic or wonder.
- Put a 6 in all the places where I can feel powerful and active in my body.
Put a 7 in all the places where I can learn to see things from different perspectives, literally and through creating dramatic play.- Put an 8 in all the places where I see my name written or get to regularly write my name.
- Put a 9 in all the places where I get to know who my caregiver/teacher is - what s/he likes, how she spends time in her life, special people and things.
- Put a 10 where I can learn about what is happening in my neighbourhood and larger community.
- Put an 11 where I can see how my family has been involved in the program.
Designing the outdoor environment
The ELCC building committee together with the licensing officer (if s/he is not a member of the committee) finalize the playground design details and agree on the phasing timelines.
Often the majority of design time and renovation cost is allocated to the indoor space and the outdoor play space is designed after the interior space decisions have been made. All provinces and territories require that children have access to an outdoor playground, but it many cases it does not have to be immediately adjacent to the indoor space, let alone contiguous to it.
In some playgrounds a manufactured piece of climbing equipment is ordered from a catalogue and that is the basis around which the playground is developed. Fortunately there is a growing body of knowledge about the importance of the outdoor environment and an understanding that children need natural environments with numerous possibilities.
Ideally the outdoor space should be contiguous to the indoor space, with direct access to the children's indoor space. Children should have relative freedom to move between their indoor and outdoor space at will. There should be both covered areas to provide a transition from indoor to outdoor, shade and protection in inclement weather as well as open spaces. There should be various textures, heights and activity areas. Often children spend very little time outdoors - if the weather is inclement they may not go out at all throughout the day. Some lessons can be learned from the outdoor activities in some other northern countries, where sometimes young children spend the whole day outside in all kinds of weather, gaining an appreciation for their climate and the activities it affords.
The regulations for outdoor space vary across the country. For example, the City of Vancouver child care design guidelines stipulates that there should be a total of 85 sq. m of outdoor space for a group of 12 infants; 170 sq. m for a group of 12 toddlers and 350 sq. m for a group of 25 3-5 year olds. In this way, the City recognizes that children need to be active, to be challenged and to free to run, to jump, to climb and to ride tricycles. They also need spaces in which to be creative, reflective , explore their natural environment, learn about science and nature, and not be confined by equipment with predetermined use.
Design Resources
One of the most comprehensive resources on designing space for children and on understanding children's needs can be found in the Child Care Design Guide by Anita Rui Olds. Some of Child Care Design Guide can be previewed.
Other excellent written resources include the following:
- Curtis, Deb, & Carter Margie (2003) Designs for Living and Learning: Transforming Early Childhood Environments Redleaf Press: St. Paul MN
- Children in Scotland and Children in Europe (2006) Making space; award-winning designs for young children: Author
- Cepi, Giulio, & Zini, Michele (Eds.) (2001) Children, spaces, relations: meta-project for an environment for young children. Reggio Children Domus Academy Research Centre: Milan, Italy
- Greenman, Jim (1987). Caring Places, Learning Places: Children's Environments That Work. Exchange Press: Bellevue, WA
- Moore, Robin and Wong, H. (1997). Natural Learning: Creating Environments for Rediscovering Nature's Way of Teaching. MIG Communication: Berkeley, CA
Most of these resources are available on loan from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit : http://www.childcarecanada.org and SpeciaLink: the National Centre for Child Care Inclusion http://www.specialinkcanada.org
Online resources
The City of Vancouver has developed renowned child care design guidelines, that exceed the minimum space requirements and stipulate the required types of activity areas indoors and out and the relationship between the spaces. Application of these guidelines have resulted in the development of several well-designed and functioning facilities. See: City of Vancouver ChildcareTechnical Design Guidelines: http://city.vancouver.bc.ca/commsvcs/socialplanning/initiatives/childcare/PDF/070214_Daycare_Guidelines.pdf
These guidelines include technical specifications for types of finishings, cabinetry and hardware.
The government of Ontario also has design guidelines for the development of child care facilities. They can be found at: http://www.children.gov.on.ca/CS/en/programs/BestStart/Publications/PlanningAndDesign.htm
Also, from the Whole Building Design Guide: http://www.wbdg.org/design/child_centres.php
Some excellent visual examples of outdoor play environments for children can be found at the Places for Play exhibition by Playlink and the Free Play Network in Britain. http://www.freeplaynetwork.org.uk/playlink/exhibition/index.html. The section "woe and possibility" shows poor as well as creative playground possibilities.
Other resources with ideas on creating children's outdoor environments can be found at:
City of Vancouver Childcare Design Guidelines
- http://www.whitehutchinson.com/children/articles/playgrndkidslove.shtml
- http://www.whitehutchinson.com/children/articles/outdoor.shtml
Susan Herrington's and Chandra Lesmeister's paper The Design of Landscapes at Child-Care Centres: Seven C's can be ordered from: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/clar/2006/00000031/00000001/art00004