Froebel Early Learning Centre

Froebel Early Learning Centre is a conversion of a derelict school building into a bi-lingual early child care centre. The placement of the facility on the campus and engagement with the adjacent Deutsche Schule Melbourne, a not-for-profit bi-lingual primary school, was initiated by the architect in conjunction with volunteers from the school and the operator, Froebel Australia.

The architecture provides a creative approach to interior spaces, combining the functional requirements of a childcare centre with new pedagogies and engaging design.

Project Details

Architects
Steffen Welsch Architects

Award
Commendation Category 3: Renovation/ Modernisation/ Over $2m

Address
Barkly St Fitzroy North, VIC 3068

Submitter
Steffen Welsch

Cost
Not available

Photographer
Shannon McGrath

Project Overview

We teamed up with not-for-profit Froebel Australia to build Froebel ‘s first early learning centre and kindergarten in Melbourne.
Sharing the same site as partners Deutsche Schule Melbourne, the German English bilingual school in North Fitzroy, inner Melbourne, the new Froebel centre offers childcare to 66 children from six weeks to five years.

Our brief was to repurpose former school buildings into an engaging and unique learning environment for young children and their educators and to create a communal hub for the German-Australian community.

The design approach centres on ‘rooms within rooms ‘, creating a diverse variety of intimate nooks and multipurpose environments for play, reading, art. The centre includes a play pod and even a racing track!

Alongside the whimsical, the design provides a superior solution for the hard-working practicalities of running a busy centre. The centre features teaching kitchen for food education, ample storage, and durable, low-toxic materials. Improved thermal performance is achieved through appropriate internal planning, retrofitting insulation and new double glazed doors and windows.

Sustainability is carried through to the outdoor environment. The garden, designed by Christina Silk from Silk Consulting Landscape Architects and Alexandra Gaunt from Lightbox 3D, features a kitchen garden, a shared entry with the Deutsche Schule to encourage meeting and mingling, and a giant slide whizzing from first floor straight into the playground.

Purpose built areas provide educator training facilities for the Stiftung Haus der kleinen Forscher ‘Little Scientists ‘ program Froebel is bringing to Melbourne.

Juror’s Comments

This is a long daycare centre of 66 places for children 6 months to primary school age in North Fitzroy.

The significant design challenges, including decontamination of the existing derelict school building, opening up of walls to create a flow of spaces and compliance regulations were resolved with a high level of imagination.

The jury would have liked a more thorough consultation process to include all stakeholders, particularly children, but we were particularly taken with the excellent joinery detailing, the use of subtle colour coding of each area and incorporation of elements to stimulate learning and free exploration. Some of these were the vertical play spaces, the science corner and age-appropriate risk-taking including the giant slide into the playground.

Many of the spaces, joinery fittings and activities were well thought out, exemplified by the kitchen design, which facilitates a whole range of learning experiences around healthy eating, nutrition and food preparation. Small steps up to the kitchen bench encourage children to participate in cooking activities, have a chat with the chef and pick up their own food.

This is a well-conceived project providing a high level of flexibility for teaching and learning so essential in pre-school designs.

Congratulations to Stephan Welsch Architecture and Froebel Early Learning Centre