The Early Learning Centre designed by

Teeple Architects Teeple Architects is an architecture firm based in Toronto, Ontario founded by Stephen Teeple, in the year 1989. The firm is known to design several buildings in Canada. Selected projects Teeple’s works include 60 Richmond Street East Housing ...

in 2003 is an intricate space intended for the children of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

faculty and students to enhance the enjoyment of their learning experiences. One of the most important aspects of the building is the large open spaces, big windows, and clear connections between rooms that allow for children's interaction with the exterior environment and with each other. The building is made up of multi-levels, leaving some areas to be double-height, creating

loft A loft is a building's upper storey or elevated area in a room directly under the roof (American usage), or just an attic: a storage space under the roof usually accessed by a ladder (primarily British usage). A loft apartment refers to large ...

and pit-like spaces for the children to play in. The different rooms are mainly centered on a ramp, which is used for circulation.Goodfellow, Margaret et al. A Guidebook to Contemporary Architecture in Toronto. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2010, 54. There are

lightwell In architecture, a lightwell,light well, light-well sky-well,skywell, sky well or air shaft is an unroofed or roofed external space provided within the volume of a large building to allow light and air to reach what would otherwise be a dark or ...

s that run along the double-atrium ramp that help to brighten up the spaces. The whole building was designed around a large

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

tree, which currently is placed in the back of the building. The exterior of the building is made up of large Gavalume panels, and light green-tinted transparent glass windows. They seem randomly placed, but in fact follow a certain pattern and the positioning of each panel and glass is properly justifiedHill, John. "Early Learning Centre." A Weekly Dose of Architecture. N.p., 31 May 2004. Web. 19 Sep 2010. , 3). The entire building has a planar profile is very linear, and does not consist of any curvy or irregular shapes. The architects were also careful in creating a structure that did not stand out too much from its surrounding buildings. Though the principal materials are different from the

residential building A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residen ...

on the site, the architects conveyed some of the material elements of the

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

by using it along the main entrance ramp of the centre. In terms of size, the centre though larger than most surrounding buildings, still maintains a modest size and is not overwhelmingly large. Overall, Teeple Architects were quite successful in generating an intricate playful space and rather complex form with the use of simple shapes and ideas.

References

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