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Fostering Foundations | UTK Early Learning Center for Research & Development
Fostering Foundations | UTK Early Learning Center for Research & Development
Site: 400 W Summit Hill Dr SW, Knoxville, TN 37902
Studio: fourth year interior architecture studio instructed by David Matthews
Year: Fall 2024
Programs: Revit, Enscape, Photoshop, Illustrator, Prome Ai
Using evidence-based research as the backbone, this early childhood education center seeks to create home-like environments to foster community, risk-taking, and creativity in children's growth academically and humanly.
Client
Client
Photo: UT ELC Facebook
Photo: Winnie.com
Client & Researc
Client & Researc
The Early Learning Center (ELC) for Research and Development at the University of Tennessee is an education and care center for kindergarten and preschool children that investigates fostering healthy development through research, observation & implementation.
Beginning this project, we took a visit to the center's current location while school was in session. We were given a tour of the classrooms and outdoor area and then sat down with Elizabeth Newton, the head director of the program. She shared with us the following research principles that are important to the ELC curriculum:
Free Play
Cooperative play
Social Learning
Home-like environments
Creating awe, wonder, and a sense of magic
The environment as the third teacher
Open-endedness
Connecting children with place
Following this first appointment, we regularly met with Elizabeth to review our designs and coordinate meeting programmatic needs and NAEYC standards.
Research & Observation
Research & Observation
To understand how the children actively engage with their environment, I spent an hour observing the rituals and play of a typical day at the Early Learning Center.
creating home-like learning environments to harness security
creating home-like learning environments to harness security
and foster community-building, risk-taking, and creativity
and foster community-building, risk-taking, and creativity
My design thesis was derived from the book "Designs for Living and Learning - Transforming Early Childhood Environments by Deb Curtis and Margie Carter." This book challenges modern architectural approaches to early childhood environments and emphasizes the importance to create home-like environments that aid children in their transition from home to school promoting security and familiarity. Designing for such a sensitive population as children, research was the foundation of all of my design decisions in this project.
Rituals of Home
Rituals of Home
To implement the concept of a home-like atmosphere, I analyzed the typical rituals of people's daily lives within their homes. Being careful to be inclusive of many different backgrounds and cultures, I chose to hone in on 3 major elements:
mudroom - Arrival & Acclimation
kitchen + living area - Collective Living & Learning
bedroom - Identity & Imagination
mudroom - Arrival & Acclimation
Inspired by my recent travels to Southeast Asia, this design utilized the practice of removing shoes as a part of the program of the space. This hones into a ritual of home which acclimates you to the space and creates a sense of intimacy with the space.
kitchen + living area - Collective Living & Learning
Capitalizing on the inter-relatedness of home activities & spaces, this design incorporates a studio learning space in the "hub of the home" the kitchen area. This space creates opportunities for children to engage with the adult world in smaller groups and to retreat away from the rest of the group to pursue their interests.
bedroom - Identity & Imagination
To provoke children's imagination, this classroom loft was designed to give children differing perspectives that would ignite their imagination and encourage gross motor play. While the shelving seems like typical bookcases, the shelves on the left are actually rungs of a ladder, allowing the children to climb up and around the loft. The shelves also allow for children to bring in their own favorite toys, books, and stuffed animals from home to feel a sense of belonging within the space.
Programming
Programming
Taking a residential approach to the design, the kitchen and mixed-use learning area is centralized within the space. From this point breaks out the separate kindergarten and preschool classrooms. Tucked away down a corridor is the office and workspace for the teachers. Each program is placed to have access to the outside providing ample natural light within each space. Classrooms are meant to be easily reconfigurable to fit the program needs and experimental methods over time.
Classroom Zoning
Classroom Zoning
Creating opportunities for both creative free play and focused guided play, the classrooms were given designated zones which were spatially grounded according to the movement in the ceiling.
The diagram to the left visualizes the distinct activity zones within the preschool classroom. The free play zones are designed to be more expansive whereas the guided learning zones are designed to be more intimate. Children within the space are challenged to take risks according to self-initiation.
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