Bunurong Country
Nestled within F.G Tricks Reserve, Fern Street Children’s Centre by Zen Architects embraces context, spatial generosity and permeability as its pillars of design. Defined by a softy curved fence line that meanders through the parkland, Fern Street contains a two-room Kindergarten, Maternal & Child Health Centre, and Multi-purpose Community Room.
Taking cues from the surrounding park, Fern Street’s elevated, single-storey form is uniformly clad in rough-sawn timber applied in vertical striations extending upwards from generous front and rear decks. The material treatment, stained in subtle pinks and greys to mirror the bark of the surrounding gum trees, continues up and over outdoor seating, giving legibility to different zones while establishing visual cohesion.
Inside, spatial planning fosters emotional regulation and play with varying ceiling heights shaping areas of cosiness alongside those of expansive loftiness. A design language has been devised to subtly connect children to the natural environment. Just as the exterior palette nods to the bark of gum trees, interior colours are inspired by the tones of soft greens, terracotta and peach that sit just below the bark’s surface. Deliberate window placement high in the junctures between ceiling and walls and low-lying apertures skirting the floor ensure seasonal changes, weather and times of day are marked in the play of light and its constant march, visibly connecting children to the outdoors through framed expanses of sky, tree canopies and ground coverings of tanbark, grass and sand.
In collaboration with the local council, Zen Architects has realised a place that binds the community, nurtures human relationships and instils joy and sensory engagement during the early education years.
Builder: Devco
Photography: Tom Ross