Interior architect, Alyssa Anselmo, has designed a 10,000 square foot holistic childcare centre in St.Albert, AB Canada. Conceived for Bambini Learning Group, the kindergarten has the aim to “bring back the joys of childhood with daycare and out-of-school programs.”
With three centres — Alyssa having designed two of these — Bambini Holistic Childcare Center is a space for children to thrive in, and has been based around the Reggio Emilia philosophy; an approach to early childhood education that emphasises child-led learning, collaboration, creativity, and the importance of the environment as a ‘third teacher.’ As such, the space encompasses high ceilings, an abundance of natural light, low-density materials, and an emphasis on biophilic design.
Starting with an open concept separated only by either single classrooms that had their own ‘pony swing doors’ built in, so that children were always interacting with the full space, the entrance became the first focal point where Alyssa wanted to embody a calmness that didn’t naturally exist in daycare.
With capacity for 153 children, from ages 12 months to 12 years, hundreds of hours of work went into studying the ergonomics required to make children’s lives easier, the designer — who operates her own studio under the name, Studio Anva — incorporating things such as mini kitchens inside each classroom that have two sinks installed at different heights, one for the teacher, one for the child, and a bathroom behind an arched door with a circular glass window, meaning that neither the teacher nor the child need leave the classroom.
The piazza is an indoor courtyard for children to focus on mindfulness/yoga, and is home to a 12 foot tall Ficus Benjamina tree, a giant eight foot long cloud, and a sunken conversation pit. The piazza is surrounded by over 1,000 birch wooden slats that are separated with white, negative space. There are also two skylights in this room, and several rice paper shades of all different sizes, hung at different heights to give a sort of “grand, magical” perspective to the children.
Stones and woods are living, breathing materials that change according to environmental factors and lighting. These age overtime, changing the way materials interact with the space, thus having an impact on the way children grow within this environment. For this reason, Alyssa chose to work with concrete as a base, and birch plywood panelling along the wall to create that warmth that is reflected by the natural sunlight filtering the daycare throughout the day.
To enhance the light and privacy balance in such an environment, she collaborated with Select Blinds Canada to incorporate window treatments that complement the birch tones and soft colour palette, ensuring functionality without compromising the natural aesthetic. The ‘white’ walls are actually a cream colour, which blends with the birch, and there is soft green painted on some of the walls to balance the vegetation throughout the space; again, providing a warmth that moves away from a stark white institutional feel. The concrete floor was something that she specially designed to contribute to the warmth, by adding a beige earthy color to the mix in order to avoid a natural, cold industrial grey floor.
An “Art Atelier” completes the centre, enabling the children to get crafty with various materials. With three large arched windows that children can walk by and see what their friends are making, the room also inspires with over 20 plants hanging at different heights, along with another skylight and a wash basin.
The centre itself describes the project as “a holistic child care and out of school programme that focuses on promoting the development of the whole child while supporting the family in their parenting journey. Bambini,” it continues, “creates community through its program, workshops, services, and centres.”
With a dedication to holistic childcare that extends beyond its physical design, Bambini Daycare St. Albert offers a comprehensive program aimed at nurturing the development of every child while providing support to their families on their parenting journey.
Bambini Daycare St. Albert Photography, Alyssa Anselmo.
