Early Learning Center

Centrally located in a growing but underserved area of Raleigh, this freestanding Early Learning facility is the first Pre-K Center for the Wake County Public School System. The Center will address the needs identified by the North Carolina Governor’s Early Childhood Action Plan to provide access to high quality early education, food security, emotional support, and academic support. The eight classroom spaces and administrative services wrap around an outdoor-play landscape, blurring the line between indoor and outdoor learning. The program creates a safe and nurturing learning environment, builds racial and cultural equity, and provides affordable access to early learning.

Each space is unique yet part of a community where children engage, learn and discover the beauty and lessons of nature. The fifth façade of the classrooms, a unique skylight, is informed by the necessity of classroom walls to be used for learning materials.  The uniquely colored apertures emerge from the roof to provide access to ample natural light. Every classroom will change throughout the day with skylights shaped by the agency of natural light reflecting the movement of time and nature and enhancing their learning environment.

architect: katherine hogan architects
construction: Cooper Tacia General Contracting Company
client: Wake County Public School System
location: Raleigh, North Carolina
photography: katherine hogan architects