All around the Block

Buckingham Browne & Nichols Beginner’s Suite Cambridge, MA

The school presented a goal to redevelop the beginner’s suite to better serve the Emilio Reggio curriculum of project-based learning for thirty-six toddlers and four teachers. The architectural design solution combines two classrooms, office, and circulation to make interconnected spaces with multiple areas of activity. Central to the program and layout is the ‘big block’ room, an octagonal structure in which students construct with wooden blocks pulled from shelves around the perimeter. The classroom spaces on either side are partially open to each other allowing students and teachers more fluidity with space and resource use. Completed over summer break, the result is a vibrant set of space that have become a much-loved entry experience for the school.