Early childhood architecture

Abstract

The subject of early childhood education within New Zealand became of interest to me as my children were passing through the various pre-school facilities prior to attending school. At the time I was just beginning a degree at Victoria University in the study of Architecture. As I became aware of some of the issues of design during the course of my studies, I perceived that the design of the early childhood facilities my children were attending was not ideal, and in some instances made the job of the staff more difficult than was necessary, and detracted from the children's ability to learn. During this period, my wife completed a degree in early childhood education, and as we discussed the subject, it became clear that the problem was real, as her work experience dovetailed with my observations.