Planning to Build or Remodel a Facility?

Comprehensive Design & Development Services For Children's Learning & Play Environments and Facilities

Designing a high quality, developmentally and culturally appropriate environment for children, whether for learning or for play, is a highly complex, specialized and unique skill. The physical environment, including its ambiance, layout, acoustics, lighting, equipment and furnishings has a profound impact on children's learning and behavior. We understand the importance of having the design of the entire environment, including the building, equipment and outdoors, assist and support, rather than impede, both children's development and learning and staff's abilities to meet children's needs.

Our experienced, multi-disciplinary group of professions is experienced in how to create the best environments at the most economical construction and operational costs. Our holistic, child-centered design approach includes more than just an architect, who alone does not have the broad experience in all aspects of designing children's environments. Our design team is uniquely structured and overseen by Vicki L. Stoecklin, our Education & Child Development Director, and includes members with specialized expertise in:

• Child care
• Head Start and Early Head Start
• Early childhood education
• Children's play design
• Architecture
• Infant/toddler design
• Landscape architecture
• Interior design
• Acoustics for children
• Market research
• Economic feasibility and funding
• Start-up and operational budgets
• Management
• Universal design for accessibility
• Cultural competency
• Gardening and horticulture
• Nature-based outdoor play
• Playground design
• Equipment selections and
• ADA, safety and licensing standards
• Developmentally appropriate curriculum

When our firm first began working in the specialized field of designing children's environments, we were primarily offering consulting and feasibility services. We shortly became frustrated when our clients had difficulty implementing our recommendations. They had turned to architects or landscape architects who did not have the broad knowledge base of the many issues and complexities of designing children's environments and who could not deliver the high quality, comprehensive and integrated design solutions that are required to meet young children's, teachers' and staff needs. So we restructured our services to offer the comprehensive level of expertise and comprehensive design services necessary to create high quality and successful early childhood projects.

Our team of experts has overseen the design, development and set-up of eighteen child care and child development centers, including Head Start. We have supplied planning, training and technical assistance to hundreds of child care facilities including Early Head Start and other facilities serving infants and toddlers. Our experience also includes the design of other indoor and outdoor children's play and learning environments including over thirty naturalized playgrounds, children's discovery play gardens, outdoor play spaces and learning-through-play centers.

We have multi-national and multi-cultural experience through our many projects in North America, Latin America, Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle East. We take pride in our cultural competency in creating programs and facilities, which meet the unique needs of the culture within which we are working.

To learn more about how the White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group can help you create a high quality early childhood project that facilitates your program goals and meets young children's needs, contact Vicki L. Stoecklin, our Education and Child Development Director.

e-mail | 816.931-1040