Civil Engineering Association

This book is aimed at anyone who is interested in the design of built environments for children, but it has been written specifically from an architectural perspective. I am an architect and I embarked on this project with the aim of exploring the best that architecture has to offer for early learning environments. Along the way, I discovered that architects can learn a lot from the discipline of early learning teaching. So much of the teaching in the early years revolves around the importance of a child’s environment on their development. Over the last 100 years, many divergent philosophies have evolved and the depth and breadth of thinking, is quite simply, amazing. I became interested in designing for children when I had children myself—inspired not just by a mother’s love but also by the sheer originality and responsiveness of children generally. Children are a unique client with heightened sensory needs, special scale considerations and a totally different way of moving through and perceiving space to adults. Different educational programs and the consequent needs of staff also have an impact on the architectural outcomes and on how children’s needs are managed.
So this book is in part what architecture can offer early learning, and in part what early learning requires from architecture. As most people (other than teachers) are not aware of the many philosophies that support our children’s learning, I have included a chapter that provides a brief synopsis of those philosophies that I have come across so far. This is meant as an introduction only; it is not exhaustive and I am sure that there exist whole branches of which I am oblivious.