LEARNING BY DESIGN magazine - Arlitt Children's Studio

Floor plan with space renderings
Seemed to want 2 so you got a duplicate
Inset of the space before and space after
Student work space with storage/work area.
Storage/work area gives children direct but controlled access.
Clear lucite on the hallway side emphasizes the innate characteristics and beauty of materials.
Moveable student work surfaces provide flexibility while allowing a clear 6' wide egress path through the space.
A portable sink with internal supply/collection tanks and battery-driven pump enables water access without the cost of plumbing.
The height of the perimeter bench enables it to be used as a bench, table, or a display space.
Entrance to the cave is carved out of the horizontal elements of the tree, which will be draped with potted ivy to capture the sense of the interior of a weeping beech, the inspiration of the installation.
The horizontal and vertical elements of the "tree" create a visceral sense of enclosure while affording critical clear line-of-sight supervision for safety and certification purposes.
The bench supports putting on boots to go outside, as well as a gathering space used at the beginning and end of each studio session.
Design files translated directly into production files and, with the help of an optimization algorithm, increased layout efficiency 300% over initial efforts, providing space to include a handful of student drawn animals.
Dane Heithaus
Dane Heithaus
Dane Heithaus

This new studio space gives a permanent home to the core element of the Artlitt’s Reggio-inspired curriculum. The pedagogy is child-centered, with subject matter and specific learning activities growing out of the interests and passions of the children. The primary method of exploration is through preliterate “languages” - painting, sculpture, oral, movement, etc. Typically this manifests as a dedicated Atelier space within a school, equipped with a diversity of natural and assorted materials for use by the children.

This project takes an under-used hallway space and creates a dedicated Atelier for each child to pursue their own learning. It consists of a resource area (to be used by students and teachers), a work-zone, and the “tree”, which contains a darkened space for light/shadow work and a “nest” with a view to the outside. Materials are artfully displayed at child-height to emphasize their inherent beauty. An augmented reality app allowed the children and teachers to react and contribute to the design.

The limited budget necessitated a streamlined digital work-flow: drawings to CNC cut-files laid out on 4x8 sheets. Prefinished plywood was used wherever possible to limit the amount of finishing required. Installation was by a mixture of professional and volunteer labor.

Arlitt Children's Studio

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Project Location:
Cincinnati, OH

Architecture Firm
SHP
Cincinnati, OH
shp.com
https://www.facebook.com/shp1901
https://www.linkedin.com/company/854409
https://twitter.com/shp_design

Photography By:
Dane Heithaus

Arlitt Children's Studio

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Description