Moomairemener
Tasmania
The Alma Street Childcare Centre is a council-operated facility dedicated to the care and wellbeing of children. It provides a range of community services, including childcare, training and a before-and-after-school care program.
The design prioritises simplicity and robustness, ensuring the building is accessible, inclusive, and child-safe. The design fosters interaction, learning, and curiosity, positively shaping the social and educational experiences of its young users.
The building has been designed for flexibility, durability, and a long lifespan. Its adaptability is enhanced by straightforward, open, and context-sensitive planning. Energy and resource efficiency, alongside thoughtful material sourcing, were integral considerations throughout the design process.
Activity spaces are strategically planned to maximise natural light and views, creating seamless spatial flow and between internal spaces and its crafted external play environment.
A high-quality and greatly welcomed community asset has been achieved: a place where children feel valued, educators feel inspired, and families feel supported.
Alma Street Childcare Centre is a vibrant and thoughtfully designed environment that fosters curiosity, play, and learning. The project’s intelligent use of colour reinforces its conceptual framework, creating an inviting and stimulating atmosphere tailored to its young occupants.
Natural light is a defining feature of the design, strategically introduced to enhance spatial quality, promote wellbeing, and create a bright, uplifting interior. This thoughtful approach ensures a dynamic and engaging environment, supporting both visual comfort and the children’s connection to their surroundings.
The material palette is highly considered, balancing aesthetic appeal with environmental sustainability to support both user wellbeing and responsible construction practices. Despite the complexities of the site, including the need to integrate an existing storage building, the overall plan is remarkably well resolved. The design demonstrates intelligence and adaptability, ensuring functional needs are met while maintaining a cohesive and engaging spatial experience.
Alma Street Childcare Centre exemplifies excellence in educational architecture, setting a benchmark for creating nurturing and inspiring spaces for children.
Our objective was to create a versatile, durable, functional, and cost-effective community focussed projects that addressed the specific requirements of a regulated childcare environment. This goal was achieved through efficient, seamless project delivery, resulting in a facility that has not only exceeded expectations but also significantly enhanced our capacity to deliver our services to the community.
The new building and its outdoor areas offer a welcoming, light-filled, and vibrant setting that enriches the play and learning experiences of the children in our care while providing an ex-ceptional working environment for our staff. Public feedback since opening has been over-whelmingly positive.
Fred Ward, Project Architect
Michael Carlotto, Graduate of Architecture
WT Partnership, Quantity Surveyor
Lee Tyers Building Surveyors, Building Surveyor
Play Street P/L, Landscape Consultant
Aldanmark P/L, Structural Engineer
Aldanmark P/l, Structural Engineer
Aldanmark P/L, Hydraulic Consultant
EST Engineers, Services Consultant
The ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.
