Working with Establish ECE and Copeland Associates Architects (CAA) - an award-winning New Zealand practice, this now operational centre is designed for 100 children aged 0-5 years. Although a challenging site, the vision articulated by New Shoots was to exploit the natural surroundings and create a ‘nature classroom’ for young children, with abundant planting and curated native wetland.

The site, split into two areas by a stream, had become an abandoned and neglected wasteland. Detention ponds for receiving motorway construction run-off had been filled with industrial waste. There were mounds of excavated spoil, dumps of rubbish, and a derelict house containing asbestos. Some native bush and wildlife, including pests and noxious plants, were recolonizing the surface and the sluggish watercourse was clogged with silt and debris.

Taking into account the site characteristics described above, CAA organised the buildings into three shallow plan passively controlled pavilions: toddlers & staff, infants, and preschoolers. Each has a roof shape that allows high-level ventilation and morning sunshine into the children’s activity spaces. The buildings are arranged to form a triangular courtyard play area protected by a translucent veranda. The buildings are accessed from the car park via a timber bridge, creating a unique entrance over the stream.