1/7 Nursery as garden pergola
2/7 Landscape strategy by Jonathan Cook
3/7 The little pleasures of nursery life
4/7 Baby order
5/7 Interior model view
6/7 The daylight interior changes through the day and year
David Kohn Architects
Linton House
39–51 Highgate Road
London NW5 1RT
+44 (0)20 7424 8596 tel
Email
Shortlisted competition entry for a nursery school, 2010
Collingham Gardens Nursery is a community nursery near Kings Cross, London, run by an independent charity and part-funded by Camden Council. Full-time daycare is provided for two to five year olds with an emphasis on outdoor play in the nursery's beautiful garden setting. A programme of managed risk-taking and problem-solving in the garden, rather than formal teaching, is aimed at nurturing children's personal and social development and creating a love of learning and exploration.
DKA were invited to participate in a design competition to replace the nursery's inadequate portacabin accommodation. Our shortlisted scheme proposed a new organisation for the garden that provided a range of experiences from the safe and familiar territory of the nursery terrace to the depths of a 'scary' garden. The new school building was conceived as a pergola that greeted children and parents and the entrance to the site and delivered them to the school rooms and then on into the garden. The nursery interior was structured around a stacked vierendeel truss that created a high-level adventurous playspace for the children.
Consultant Team:
Landscape - Jonathan Cook Landscape Architects
Structures - Alan Baxter & Associates
Services - Max Fordham LLP
Quantity Surveying - Jackson Coles
