Early Childhood Centers’ Profound Impact

Studies have shown early childhood education centers are key contributors to supporting children’s development and learning and are pillars for their communities. Key findings gathered by the U.S. Administration for Children and Families have shown involvement in early childhood centers yields long-term advantages for both young learners and their communities. The typical benefits include higher educational attainment, less involvement in crime, and improved overall physical well-being.

Given their importance to the community, the design of these facilities is a responsibility our firm’s designers do not take lightly. By providing engineering innovation and diligently applying best practices our technical personnel have developed, our firm crafts high-performing building systems. All the while, our design teams ensure the space’s engineering complements the interior design features. Building system engineering can add to the value and offerings these centers provide, which include purified air, cost-conscious design, energy efficiency, and necessary infrastructure provision.

In order to better understand the thought and intentionality behind the engineering in these facilities, highlighted projects designed by our firm are listed below.

Clifton Early Childhood Education Center

The Clifton Early Childhood Education Center is located in Clifton, Colorado, on a 13-acre campus. The complex is separated into three distinct areas, including the early childhood spaces, the training center, and a dedicated community hall. The facility has 12 classrooms with direct access to outdoor learning environments that promote age-appropriate play and exploration. What makes this center unique is the offerings it provides for families outside of early childhood services through the community hall and training center.

“These projects we do in coordination with RDG are so meaningful. They are a massive investment in the community,” Shane Harrer P.E., LEED AP, an Alvine Engineering Associate Principal, stated, “The kids who attend these learning centers wouldn’t have a preschool to go to if this facility didn’t exist.”

As is the case with many early childhood centers, the Clifton Early Childhood Center was a budget-conscious project. Our designers presented multiple options to effectively use the client’s resources. Our mechanical team analyzed several systems to review the initial cost, energy use intensity, and projected maintenance to help the owner determine which system would provide the best value. The client selected a packaged rooftop unit that serves variable air volume (VAV) terminals. The mechanical systems utilize MERV 13 filters to improve indoor air quality.

The architectural lighting provided for the space promotes early childhood exploration and curiosity by highlighting unique interior design elements children can interact with. The electrical design provides specific utility metering systems for the early childhood center, the training center, and the community hall. The electrical layout includes infrastructure capable of supporting the future installation of a photovoltaic energy system and multiple EV charging stations. Our firm completed the lighting design for the entire site, which included lighting a central courtyard and amphitheater shared between the early childhood center and library located on the site.

“Throughout the community hall, we worked with the interior designers to integrate lighting within the acoustical baffles in the ceiling so it functions as one cohesive ceiling,” Ben Williams LC, Alvine Engineering lighting studio’s lighting design lead, explained, “We took special care to ensure the lighting was maintainable yet exciting for young learners.”

The Franklin School Early Learning Center

The Franklin School Early Learning Center is a highly rated childhood development center that is an integral part of the Spartanburg, South Carolina community. Part of the Northside Redevelopment Initiative, The Franklin School is equipped to handle curriculum and activities for children as young as six weeks to five years of age. Focused on connecting children to sunlight and nature throughout the entire building, the facility features window walls, extra-wide hallways, and an outdoor playground accessible from all classrooms. Transitional spaces between learning and play areas encourage children to socialize, interact, and explore nearly every square foot of the center. The main exterior feature is the multi-colored glass-clad form rising above the building, which serves as a beacon for community members to see and identify as a place for young learners.

Mechanical and plumbing features are tailored to the needs of early childhood facilities. To not detract from the awe-inspiring effect of The Franklin School’s multi-colored glass clerestory, our mechanical team coordinated with the architect to select a centralized location for the HVAC equipment to shield it from view.  Mechanical and plumbing features include localized exhaust air, laundry, and toy sanitization stations.

“We’re very conscious of how we design the plumbing and mechanical systems for these projects,” Shane stated, “We provide age-appropriate sink fixtures and bathrooms along with special ventilation systems for diaper disposal. We’ve completed projects like these over the course of decades and have updated our design standards to account for all the unique intricacies of these spaces.”

The Alvine Engineering lighting studio worked with the architect to study the different effects of various glass colors, transparencies, and translucencies in order to craft a beacon-like effect for the clerestory windows. Tubular skylights are utilized throughout the interior play areas to introduce daylight in these spaces, providing beneficial sunlight while reducing electricity usage.

“We used an innovative and collaborative process to test the different lighting effects with the architect on this project,” Ben stated, “The power of collaboration led us to merge form and function within the lighting design that can serve the community for multiple lifetimes.”

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Our firm celebrates a dynamic portfolio of early education projects and has applied industry-leading best practices to help these spaces remain cost-conscious, energy-efficient, and ensure sustainability for the communities of the future.

“It can’t be stressed enough how much of a difference these facilities make in at-risk neighborhood,” Shane finished, “With these facilities, we want to craft something special that lasts and allows the next generation in these areas to get the head start in life these kids deserve.”