Designed in collaboration with Boston-based childcare design specialists, D.W. Arthur Architects, this Children’s Learning Center facility engages its young users with a colorful and tactilely-inviting material palette. From an exterior concrete wall articulated with wave patterns and second floor terrace play area adjoining the second–story classrooms, the design clearly focuses on its distinct user group. Roof eaves are articulated with playful curves that provide shade and protection to the second floor terrace as do the covered porches of the first floor at the east and south elevations. The design, consisting of classrooms (that double as dining space), shared play spaces, and a catering kitchen, is based on a “family room” concept in which children of different ages are encouraged to interact in a communal space. The catering kitchen also serves other child care facilities at remote locations. The open plan of the classroom spaces provides visual connection for student and teacher with a transparency that extends to the outdoor play spaces.

A contextual development—in visual dialogue with the adjacent hospital complex and its residential neighborhood—the center maintains an inviting street wall on its Broadway façade while creating privacy in the rear courtyard complex. The building is also responsive to its environment, featuring green play spaces, an underground geothermal heating system, butterfly roofs designed to control stormwater run-off, and low-maintenance materials.

Location

Jackson, Wyoming

Project Size

10,000 sq. ft.

Publications

2026 Biophilic Designs