PORTFOLIO

About

Andrew Fleck Child Care Services is located in Ottawa’s Byward Market area and provides subsidized child care to low income inner city parents. It’s main building was built in 1912 as Canada’s first purpose built child care facility. This project replaced a second building on the site with a new one storey state of the art child care facility. The new facilities accommodate 15 toddlers and 16 preschoolers.

The facility creates a “homey” feel for the children served. The design simulates the primary communal rooms of a typical home including a living room, a dining area and a kitchen. The new kitchen is designed to support program delivery, allowing children to safely observe household tasks. The front room provides staff and community volunteers with a venue to provide specialized programming to small groups of children. Other program areas include two play rooms and a change area with built-in cubby holes for storage. Large windows and a skylight provide ample natural light while black out blinds allow for near darkness at nap time. Horizontal cedar slats installed over acoustic sound insulation give the walls a warm look while providing sound attenuation.

This development provides a much-needed urban oasis amidst a sea of high

rise buildings. The project was made possible through capital funding from

the City of Ottawa.