client: kids unlimited

Summerfields nursery which caters for babies and children aged from three months to four years, is one of the first purpose-designed children’s centres in the UK.

In order to ‘fascinate’ the children, the architecture is deliberately playful-where young children (and their parents) experience an environment which is light-hearted and distracting in its own right, they would be more willing to participate in the life of the institution. But both client and architect were adamant that this did not mean overtly childish forms. Instead, the environment should be ordered and legible, particularly for the pre-literate users, while still being light and engaging.