ADD(anonymous dwelling design) as a newly established design organization based in shanghai got invited form an early-age education brand to design their new flagship in Futian Shenzhen, South China. During this half year design process, designers create a new set of design language different form the other two centers of this brand. Yet, the client obviously wanted to carry on the same touch and feel to keep the brand consistency. To achieve that, Designers put a café area in the open space to create a community feeling. A children care community is what client always emphasized.

The communal area gives this 1500 sqm site a large open space. Instead of having many long corridors as conventional “school”, this open space has better connectivity in many ways. Additionally, in the open area, designers have applying vast amount of wood surface giving the communal area a natural surrounding for children. By utilizing similar material from the older two flagship, these three places are standing as a group for one brand. For infants and younger children, the request and need for different age group can be vary. Take baby playing and discovery as an example, the infants and babies are learning to walk from crawling. Crawling environment then, is becoming a contextual influence for infant cognition. From the design perspective, how to build this context is part of the solution finding. Restudied and reviewed each elements’ ergonomics and questioning about function as a baby scale is a constant task though out the project.

Designers adjust every single element size, form assistant walking bar, to a mini trampoline or a ramp to walk on. After we done that part, we come up with a bigger play area for relatively older children since their activities are free and wild. Once children start to read and learn some basic language, they need a focus area for reading and pay attention, then here comes a reading zone. All these zones are around the community café. By then, the whole space has different functions in each area, these areas are connected without boundaries. To reach each zone’s best function, sound absorb and proof materials are largely applied. Last but not least, a James Turrell installation inspired dark room is also located in one classroom to trigger babies visual sensory.

During early human brain development period, within 6-48 months brain learn and develop even faster, thus the contextual environment is crucial. Not even mentioning psychological significant on one’s primary home has huge influence on one’s imaginative ability, creativity and even consciousness. Like French philosopher Gaston Bachelard mentioned in his book “The Poetics of Space”. To author and designer of this space, to what extend this education center would shift or replace home, remain a question mark. Try best to bring color, light, temperature, shape to build a space, however, is what a designer could achieve to help babies to trigger senses and then to imagine.