Emerald Place Early Learning Centre Project

The full picture of Emerald Place

The long-term vision for the Emerald Place project is to design and build a community and is why the needs of the youngest community members will be met first.

Our client, Mike Wu, CEO & CFO of Little Lane Early Learning wanted to design, build and operate the world’s best early learning centre. In this very rare situation in our industry our client’s higher priority is for quality over cost.

The full project will deliver a landmark world-class precinct for education, wellness and retirement living. Emerald Place will be a global inspiration with a generational vision. The jewel of the development is the community wellness hub and early learning centre and is the first stage of the overall proposed development.

We have now completed the conceptual design for Emerald Place Early Learning and Wellness Centre and believe it will be a revolutionary concept in early childhood education, potentially shaping the educational approach in the space.

Innovative Early Learning Centre Design

Some of the philosophies that influenced the collaborative conceptual design are the Montessori education method, ecologically sustainable design and Japanese design approaches to early learning. The space is zoned by activities and experiences that are ecologically sound rather than by age group.

All age groups in the ELC can interact, share activities and tasks and play and learn imaginatively together in a natural environment. For example, a four-year-old teaching a two-year-old to rinse their bowl after a meal, might do so outside using a tap that obviously displays and utilises the mechanism and will output harvested rainwater. All the interiors are based on ecologically sustainable design, customised for the space and purpose and will encourage interactivity. As our conceptual collaborator Takaharu Tezuka says, “Human beings can’t be independent from nature.”

The scale of the project is also unique, with a site of almost a hectare allowing for many outdoor areas. In a city location, where centres of learning are increasingly vertical in design, Emerald Place will fill the whole site with a vast expanse of outdoor and indoor play, learning, wellness, exercise and gathering spaces over four levels completed by a rooftop garden and soccer field.

Referencing Japanese culture, the old and the young will come together and enhance each other’s experience of community giving each age group opportunities for connection and identity. The centre will also house a Wellness Hub of companionable services; required by both the old and young e.g. doctors, dentists, audiologists, speech pathologists, physiotherapists and an indoor pool. A communal coffee shop/ library will see both parents and children and the elderly congregate and interact. The indoor swimming pool (an essential learning experience for Australian children) will also give the elderly an amenity for rehabilitation and non-weight-bearing exercise.

Project Control to ensure a ‘world’s best’ outcome

Milton Architect’s approach to Early Learning Centre design is a combination of innovative, thoughtful design skills and great knowledge and experience of the licensing requirements of the various relevant Government bodies both nationally and in each State of Australia.

The requirements for natural play, space ratios and shade vary from State to State and it is not only knowledge of the written requirements but experience with the licensing that is crucial to utilise at the design stage. Our experience allows us to integrate these requirements from the very beginning at the design stage all the way through the project, saving our client’s money, time and heartache.

Milton Architect’s preferred method of involvement on a project is to manage its full life-cycle including:

Conceptual design and Council Liaison

Design, Development and Council Development Approval (DA)

Construction Documentation

Contract Administration

Construction Project Management

​We are able to provide the best quality outcome for our clients when we drive the process from design through to construction completion. On the Emerald Place ELC and the majority of our projects Milton Architects has consistent and intimate control of the design, quality and cost ensuring the project exceeds our client’s expectations.

Contact Milton Architects for a complimentary initial discussion about your education or early learning centre project.