Playhood Club
all, early years
Pioneering childcare setting uses smart design and construction techniques to support Montissori philosophy.
Playhood Club is a pioneering childcare setting founded by Karen Partridge. As a parent herself our social entrepreneur client identified a clear gap in the early years market for small, high quality childcare facilities located alongside an equally nurturing co-working studio space
Problem
Karen had a vision of supporting parents to get back to work while maintaining a closeness with their young children, and while she had the shell of a site, she had little experience in early years practice or hands-on renovation and had yet to build a team for her new enterprise.
Consultancy
Utilising our experience of Reggio nurseries in Italy we provided an initial day-long strategic design workshop, where we got to grips with the key issues connecting childcare and the environment.
Design
We then delivered a series of space planning and drawing rounds, before provide Playhood with two consecutive packages of work. One that their regular local builder could complete, and one that we could deliver as a specialist joinery package.
Build
The furniture we built activates the small space in a range of carefully planned ways, as well as offering playful opportunities for variation everyday.
Solution
The result for Playhood Club is a compact and beautifully formed nursery environment. Staff and parents feel equally welcome and catered for, helping to build a really strong network of supporters. For the children it is a space which they can adapt themselves and play with as much as within.