President*s Design Award Singapore 2020 - Design of the Year

SIA Architectural Design Awards 2019 - Design Award

Finalist in the World Architecture Festival 2018 - School category

The elegant circular building form with an overhanging roof canopy conveys an image of shelter and protection. Home to 1000 children, this development ranks as amongst the first mega child care centres to be introduced in Singapore. Prominently located along Edgefield Plains, the grand drop-off with the large canopy and double-volume main entrance allows convenient and sheltered drop-off/pick-up points and doubles up as an event plaza for celebrations.

The façade is composed of a series of vertical fins integrated with operable ventilation louvres in a light timber colour to emphasise the connection with nature. The alternating solid panels and operable ventilation louvres are cleverly angled such that the louvered windows face away from oncoming cars and minimises the western sun exposure.

The use of materials and greenery throughout the building exude warmth and a “homely” atmosphere that is both exciting and inviting. The heart of the centre is the central activity area, consisting of the Arts, Music/ Dance and Culinary rooms adjacent to the multi-purpose Play Arena (Dining Hall/ Library/ Indoor Theatre) on the 1st Storey and the lushly planted 3-Point bridge on the 2nd Storey.

The visual focus of the centre is the elevated 3-Point bridge with its lush tropical forest setting which houses a musical garden and “mushroom skylights”. We envisioned the forest to be an exploratory play area where the children are encouraged to encounter and learn about “nature” in a protected environment.

The various play areas and physical activities promote experiential and sensorial learning and are located across all floors. Each play area is also deliberately designed differently in terms of scale, texture and its relation to the natural environment. A feature circular ramp connects all the activity spaces across all 3 floors, promoting both visual and physical connections.

This Sparkletots Preschool is also featured on ArchDaily.