In two years the novelty of a beautiful, purpose-built environment has not worn off for the occupants of Heathfield Children's Centre and Nursery in Richmond-upon-Thames. As services are evolving, what staff love most is the flexibility of the design that makes everything possible.
Located in one of the least-affluent pockets of this wealthy London borough, the centre is well-used. While the nursery does not provide full day care, more than 100 children attend either morning or afternoon sessions and there has been a move to straight three-hour sessions to accommodate the 15 hour entitlement.
The children's centre, meanwhile, offers a packed schedule including stay and play sessions, a young parents group, an early pregnancy advice clinic, victim support, relate counselling and speech and language therapy. A course to support parents getting back to work and a five-week child safety course have recently been introduced.
The building process itself benefited from excellent lines of communication between staff and Sarah Wigglesworth Architects. Although the project ran over budget, the final cost of £1.13m represented value for money and the extra cash was stumped up by the local authority to support the vision.
Becky Underwood, head of the nursery and neighbouring infants school, says, 'We worked closely with the architects and had a good dialogue throughout. They were able to interpret exactly what we wanted and as the centre has expanded the design has been able to accommodate this.'
Ms Underwood is delighted that all the staff now have a 'huge nursery' at their disposal. 'We have a combination of group rooms and large spaces that can be used for a wide variety of purposes,' she says. 'The uses have changed since we've been open and we are currently rethinking the foyer area to make it less congested.'
Where possible recycled materials were used in the construction and low maintenance costs were a top priority. Key features include large windows to maximise natural daylight, thick walls to achieve a constant temperature, low energy lighting and rainwater collection to reduce water consumption. Rubble from the former building was used to create an angular, terraced roof. Project architect George Legg says, 'Because the centre is located under the Heathrow flight path, passive ventilation was not an option and a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery was used instead.
'All the windows face north but because of the way they have been designed, the space is well lit. The walls and the high ceilings are clad in an acoustic board which has a nice texture and appearance and also provides sound protection from the overhead planes.'
Careful thought was given to landscaping, with a large outdoor area providing a safe but challenging playground and a wildlife garden beyond. Generous canopies around the perimeter of the building assist in free flow play and extend the use of the outdoors all year round.
The colourful exterior of painted timber boarding makes the building unmissable from the road in contrast to a nearby junior school which is dominated by rows of portakabins.
Ms Underwood says, 'The centre is going from strength to strength and even in the current economic climate we are all moving ahead positively. We are too busy to worry about things which haven't happened yet and all appreciate the huge potential this building offers us.'
