LEARNING BY DESIGN magazine - Clinton Hill Early Learning Center

Site Plan - main entrance along Demarest Street, community entrance from Clinton Place parking lot
First Floor Plan - includes reception area with stroller parking, Early Head Start classrooms, faculty space and community multi-purpose room
Second Floor Plan - includes PreK classrooms and administrative space
Clinton Street Entrance: The community Entrance façade revels the canopy over the entry, large windows in Multipurpose Room and the paired classroom design.
Clinton Street Entrance - Detail: Picture focusing on the paired classroom design and accent colors carried into the interior.
Demarest Street Façade: View east showing scale of the building and its relationship to the street as groupings of classrooms with their individual accent colors.
Side Entrance: Photo detailing the waterfall roof edge of the classroom pairs and the exposed “tree” shaped columns.
Reception and Stairs: View of the open riser steel and wood stair with step platform that turns into bench and then reception desk.
Hallway: Second floor hallway with classroom door alcove, accent color and end of hall daylight and connection to neighborhood.
Preschool Classroom: Typical second floor classroom with built in casework, lowered windows with cushioned seat and sloped exposed timber structure and decking leading to clerestory windows.
Courtyard: One of two play areas in the courtyard with two story window and screen at interior open stair. Picture also shows articulation of cement panel façade.
Courtyard: Detail view of connecting link that divides courtyard into two play areas for different age groups and poured concrete bench and wall.
Main Entry: Twilight view of main entrance showing brick treatment of base with articulated paired classrooms above, separated by fully glazed administrative space.
Nicholas Venezia
Nicholas Venezia
Nicholas Venezia

PROJECT NARRARTIVE

The new, two-story, 40,000 sf Early Head Start and Pre-School transformed a long-vacant urban site into a thriving and vibrant destination for the community’s youngest members and families.

Time spent with parents, educators, children, and residents influenced the programming, layout, and design, resulting in a desirable place for quality early childhood learning and childcare services.

Six toddler rooms and 10 Pre-K classrooms, efficiently organized in pairs to accommodate shared changing areas and restrooms, offices, indoor play areas, family center, play therapy suite and open circulation spaces wrap the building perimeter.

The interior, flooded with natural light, is consciously connected to the outdoors through carefully placed windows with views to the sky, courtyards, and adjacent community garden. A central courtyard creates a safe enclosure for exploratory play, delineated by age group through a connecting link.

Room dimensions, ceiling heights, materials, color, and lighting subtly change while navigating the center. An exterior brick base, playful window configurations and rhythmic roof scape give a refreshing, visually appealing connection, and contextual nod to the surrounding neighborhood.

Intentionally designed for flexibility and multi-use, the center serves as a community center complete with multi-purpose room and adjacent warming kitchen to accommodate various functions afterhours.

Clinton Hill Early Learning Center

Description

Owner
La Casa de Don Pedro / Clinton Hill Community & Early Childhood Center (2 separate users)
Newark, NJ

Architecture Firm
DIGroup Architecture, LLC
New Brunswick,New Jersey
digrouparchitecture.com

Photography By:
Nicholas Venezia

Clinton Hill Early Learning Center

Category

Description