Designing & Building World-Class Facilities
The university and education department at Harris-Stowe recognized the growing emphasis placed on early childhood education and hired KAI to design a new 30,265 SF early childhood/parenting education center called the William L. Clay Sr. Early Childhood Development and Parenting Education Center. Sited at the entrance of the campus, the university desired a world-class facility utilizing the “Reggio Emelio”-based educational model. KAI collaborated with world-renowned designer, Adrian Luchini, to fulfill this vision.
This state-of-the-art childcare facility, hands-on teaching laboratory and parenting education center for the college’s students and accommodates 140 children, ranging from infants to pre-schoolers.
A unique audio/video system allows professors to demonstrate live child development lesson plans along with observation rooms directly to the higher education students’ classrooms.
KAI used building information modeling (BIM) software to produce working models of the facility, enhancing communication and collaboration among the project team.
- Services
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Architecture, Interior Design, Building Information Modeling, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Plumbing Engineering, Project Management, Design-Build, Sustainable Design, Fire Protection Engineering
"This building will not only serve the Harris-Stowe community, but the entire St. Louis community overall."
The Impact
Embracing the Needs of Children
The center is a safe, healthy and comprehensive child development facility providing full-day learning experiences for children 6 weeks to 5 years of age. This project was designed to promote and encourage a diverse population of children's social, emotional, physical and cognitive development, while embracing their needs and interests to explore, discover, experiment and examine their world through play.
