Potter & Holmes have created the first Children's Centre for Islington, a joint reception for the Early Years Centre and Sure Start that is situated on the ground floor of a 1960's medium rise social housing block.
Our design includes:
- New canopied entrance creating a greater presence on the street
- Integration of all the services at a community level
- Accommodation for community care workers, management board training and creche facilities
- Innovative internal curvy route retaining the original openings
- 'Window seat nooks' for occasional quiet reading
- Reduced ceiling heights to further modify the level of intimacy
- Use of colour to encourage inquisitiveness in children
We designed a new garden that integrates an additional strip of adjoining land and includes:
- Twisty secret paths to the wilder and more challenging part of the garden
- A new mound that is accessed via 'giant' railway sleeper steps; enjoyed from a meandering path suitable for wheelchairs; viewed from a cutting through on the level and descended by slide over the grassy banks
- For children with disabilities, the addition of raised beds for wheelchair bound and carefully selected scented planting for the visually impaired
- Mature planting retained to create shady glades and new planting areas
