Eight Steps in the Design Process for Childcare Centers

There are eight distinct steps in the design process for a successful children’s environment. Understanding the role of each of these steps will facilitate a smoother working relationship with Spaces for Children in designing your center.

The steps are:

Feasibility Study
Programming
Schematic Design
Design Development
Construction Documentation
Bidding and Negotiation
Construction Administration
Post-Occupancy Training

Our mission at Spaces for Children is to create high quality, economical childcare facilities that support your program’s ability to provide quality childcare. To this end we believe that it is important to consider criteria for quality care and best practices in the initial Feasibility Study and Programming phases.

For example, program design elements such as group size, classroom size, the indoor-outdoor relationship, and easily accessed diapering and toileting facilities with adjacent handwashing sinks all have a great impact on the functioning of the center, and also have many ramifications on all aspects of the building design and costs. Considering these and other key elements up front helps us to create centers that support the teachers’ roles as facilitators of children’s learning and development, and the amount of “managing” by teachers is significantly reduced. Child-directed learning is then promoted instead of prevented. In fact, we believe the design of the facility to be a critical factor in optimizing a teacher’s competency. In a very real way, a well-designed center becomes a tool for the teachers’ professional development.

We consider all significant design criteria up front during the Feasibility Study and Programming phases, and carry this information through the subsequent phases of design, to insure that the physical design optimizes the funds available to promote quality care for children as well as a supportive work environment for the staff.

1. Feasibility Study
This first step undertakes to examine the issues that will make the project feasible or unfeasible, and in some cases to determine the best strategy for proceeding with the project. The following may be addressed in the Feasibility Study:

Budget and scope of the project: Will the proposed project work at the desired budget?
Site analysis: Is the site chosen suitable? Is it zoned for the project? Are there sufficient parking, utilities, etc.? For some projects, Spaces for Children assists in analyzing several sites to assess the feasibility of their use for the proposed project.
What is the best strategy for developing the project on a given site?
What is the optimal size and type of building and play yard? Will a specific building work?
Is the building or site chosen structurally sound? What will be required in the way of soils tests, seismic upgrades, etc.?
How will other site considerations, such as sound levels, traffic, etc., affect the project?
Are there any toxins or hazardous materials to be dealt with?
What other cost, planning, and design constraints might the project run into?
Preparation of a report which documents all of the findings of the study and makes recommendations for proceeding with the next steps of the project.

By addressing these questions up front, we can avoid costly and frustrating surprises down the road.

2. Programming
Programming is the process used to arrive at the set of criteria on which the design is based, and by which it is later evaluated. The programming phase is where the project is built—not brick by brick, but decision by decision. This is the time when a common vocabulary for the project is created, and preferences and requirements are determined and built into the overall picture before time is invested in design.

One of the most important purposes of the program is to reduce the need for later backtracking and redesign. A thorough programming process is essential for maintaining an orderly and cost-effective design process later in the project. We have found that many problems that people encounter with the design of their centers could have been avoided with a thorough programming process. Spaces for Children goes through a detailed list of criteria with the client, looking for program needs that translate into square footage or other design requirements. For example, one of many questions for infant care that we would ask would be if the school or parents will provide the diapers, and if cloth or disposable diapers would be used. In this simple example, if the design does not accommodate the center’s needs, there will be problems with storage space, delivery, and odors in the classrooms. Programming is the process where Spaces for Children goes through all the needs of the center so that appropriate design decisions can be made later in the process.

Spaces for Children encourages clients to get directly involved in establishing the program. Programming usually involves a meeting or series of meetings with the center’s director, and in many cases the teachers, other staff, and possibly parents. In the programming meetings, the client’s specific goals, priorities, and uses for the spaces are discussed in detail. Spaces for Children will encourage the client to consider all important issues up front, help the client understand the ramifications of their decisions, and make recommendations based on past experience and professional knowledge. All of the requirements of the project are then put into a clearly-organized written program which will be a reference throughout the design process.

If, however, the client would like to play a less active role in establishing the program, Spaces for Children can develop a complete project program for the client’s review based on our experience designing dozens of child care facilities.

Items specifically analyzed in the programming phase typically include the following:

Goals, needs, wishes, limitations, expectations, aesthetics.
Scope of work: the number of children in the program; size of the building; number of rooms; room adjacencies.
Activities to occur in each room and outdoor play area.
The Center’s Education Program: Pedagogical philosophy; parent interaction; staffing; meals; etc.
Classroom observation.
Safety and security requirements.
Existing and new utility locations and requirements.
Site context: Weather, noise, solar access, vehicular access, handicap accessibility, sense of entry, site analysis.
Codes and regulations: Outline of planning and building department parameters.
Budget and priorities: Preliminary cost analysis usually based on area and/or volume, to be refined later.
Project Scheduling.
In the case of reusing an existing building: Carefully document and evaluate present building and its conditions. Determine what can be reused, what must be discarded, what must be rebuilt.

3. Schematic Design
Based on an approved Program, the Schematic Design synthesizes the program into a defined, feasible design. The design will be shown in the form of Schematic Drawings, and in some cases a study model. The Schematic Design will address all significant areas of design and will be reviewed with the client before proceeding with more detailed drawings. A preliminary cost estimate is also usually provided at this stage.