Bernice E. Lavin Early Childhood Education Center

The new early education center in Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital has play equipment and a multitude of spaces for creative play and fun for the toddlers and preschool-age children of the hospital's staff. The open space includes a racetrack, for running or riding one of the tricycles the center maintains. About 550 feet of artificial turf (Perfect Turf) was added to the center of the track for individual play and conducting group activities.

Thirty-five hundred square feet of rubber safety surfacing (Total Surface) was installed over both levels the play area. Both playgrounds are sheltered, so children will be able to enjoy them year-round while being protected from direct sun and harsh weather.

The center keeps a variety of "loose parts" available to the children using the first-floor sand area, so they can move elements around and create their own projects and spaces within the space.

Rubber surfacing was laid throughout the balance of the space to allow children the opportunity to safely challenge themselves while negotiating the play space. The rope climber incorporates an embankment and physically challenges the children, and the tunnel, adjacent to the rope climber, creates opportunities to explore and develop decision-making skills to reach higher ground.

Hitchcock Design Group designed the infant/toddler area to provide the children with physical challenges through the incorporation of elements like mounded rubber surfacing, natural stone steps (Halquist Stone) and an embankment slope.

Due to the ever-changing schedules of their staff, Northwestern Memorial Hospital broke ground in 2010 on a new early education center for employees with young children. The new facility was seen as a possible incentive for staff retention and a recruiting tool for future workers.

Northwestern partnered with Bright Horizons, a leading provider of employer-sponsored childcare, early education, and work/life solutions. Due to generous donations from the Lavin family, the center now serves many of the families that provide healthcare services in the greater Chicago, Illinois area.

Design
As part of the design team, Chicago-based firm Hitchcock Design Group was responsible for the design development, schematics, construction documentation and construction administration for the covered play areas, streetscapes and rooftop garden of the Bernice E. Lavin Early Childhood Education Center.

To meet day care center outdoor activity space requirements, the roof of the parking garage was transformed into a combination intensive and extensive green roof, which may be further developed into a community garden at a later date. The finished center incorporates nature and imagination-based play with the busy urban bustle of Chicago as a backdrop. Natural elements, including light, water, fresh air, plants and soil are incorporated into the design of the play areas. The spaces are divided into two floors, the first devoted to infants and toddlers, the second to preschoolers.

Level One – Toddler Time
Within the infant/toddler area, children are able to play in the sand using loose parts, which are materials that can be moved, stacked, carried, taken apart or put together in different ways, allowing them to explore their creative interests. These amenities challenge the toddlers to develop their motor skills, which is crucial at a young age.

The space also has a slide, a small seating area and a stage that allows teachers and care providers to gather the children together for group activities or storytelling. In keeping with the center's overall theme of incorporating the elements, natural items like sand, stone, wood, water and plants are placed throughout the space, inviting children to interact and explore the areas.

Level Two – Preschool Play
On the second floor, partially extending over the play space on the first floor, is a playground designed for preschool age children. Amenities include structured play components and flexible spaces for a wide variety of programming opportunities. A rope on an embankment and an adjacent crawling tunnel provide play opportunities that can stimulate the imagination. Children can also gather and perform in the seating and stage area adjacent to the safety surfaced area.

The planters in the play area (Landscape Forms) offer children the opportunity to plant and care for plants, as a supplement to the rooftop garden. The plants were installed in lightweight soil (Hydrotech) and were initially selected for their ability to survive in the play area"s reduced light levels. Hospital officials elected to remove the plants during the winter months, so other plants can be introduced during the spring/summer season.

At its grand opening in June 2012, 150 children were already registered to attend the programs at this new facility. The completed early childhood education center is located on the bottom two floors of a facility that also features eleven levels of employee parking and a rooftop garden.