Head Start at Windermere

Narratives

Architect Narrative

The concept of the site location places a federally funded Early Education Facility near public transportation. A parent or guardian dependent on public transportation could walk their child from the transit station to the facility and proceed on public transportation to their place of work. This necessitated constructing an extension of the existing canopies. To keep the walking distance to a minimum, the front entry of the facility does not face south to main avenue but to the north nearest the station. The reversal of street engagement required that special attention be paid to the rear of the building which fronted the street and to indicate the actual entry to the building.

The main concept of the building arose out of not only the above conditions but also to the method of lot consolidation: a residential street had to be vacated. Coupled with the fact that the site slopes 15 feet from the main avenue to the transit station, we developed an‘interior street’ idea so that children could be sheltered and protected from the rather harsh outside environment.

The program calls for fourteen classrooms which were broken up into two wings that represented each side of the existing street. The large multi-purpose room was then located between the wings and formed into an oval allowing the circulation to flow around this object. Addressing the slope of the site, the building was divided into three levels. The change in floor elevation is accommodated by a series of steps and ramps around the oval. The treads and risers are both wider and shallower to make it easier for children to walk on and also to provide impromptu gathering space for story telling. This interior street motif was then furthered by street lighting both inside the building and on the playground. Large, playful, and colorful windows on the interior corridors allow natural light to flood into the classrooms. The classroom layout was left open to allow the individual teachers to continually be creative by constantly changing around the furniture to accommodate changing curriculums. Each classroom has a curved and carpeted alcove for storytelling which also allows clerestory light. The curved roofs not only pick up the design of the rapid station but also allow maximum height in the interior street. The floating ceilings in the classrooms help bring down the scale of the space for the children.

To address the street with the ‘rear’ of the building, the glass-surrounded playground exhibits the playfulness of the children as well as that of the building to the main avenue. The actual entry of the building is indicated by a forty-foot red-shingled cone. It is meant to create an enticing entry for the children and also as a beacon of hope to the community.