Lat27 was excited about the opportunity to design the play space for the Guardian Early Learning Centre at 480 Queen Street.  Having just completed the public realm and landscape design for Dexus' new tower, the chance to develop the immersive design approach for a completely different context, and to respond to the needs of a new generation, was a proposition not to be missed.

The key challenge of designing a building interior for children was to create dynamic landscape spaces that facilitate and encourage learning and exploration.  The initial manoeuvre was to remove portions of the existing façade and enable the outside landscape character and views to the river and cliffs to be drawn deep into the internal space.  From here, the use of natural timbers, planting, vegetable gardens, boulder-work and watery play were used to blur the boundary between inside and out.