Glasgow nursery shortlisted for architects' award

Kirktonholme Early Learning and Childcare’s Govan setting is in the running for a Glasgow Institute of Architects (GIA) Design Award, to be awarded on 10 November.

The Govan nursery is one of 16 building designs shortlisted in the education category of the awards, chosen by judges out of thousands of submissions from across Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Winners will be announced at the GIA Annual Members Dinner at Oran Mor in Glasgow.

The new building is located opposite Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, on part of a mixed-use development for houses and commercial buildings in a former brownfield area.

The Kirktonholme Early Learning and Childcare group, which owns 10 settings, purchased the site in late 2014, and the nursery group’s director Charlotte Kelly worked with architect Davide Rizzo to design the new building. Charlotte’s brother, John Gallagher, acted as project manager.

The building design was based on the idea of juxtaposing volumes, with two different coloured oblong shapes sliding across each other to create a sheltered space for the entrance. The base level is redbrick to fit in with other similar buildings in the local development, and the top level, which defines the main part of the nursery, is white render.

The nursery layout is linked by a continuous path from the ground floor to the upper terrace through the playrooms, allowing free-flow access throughout the inside and outside of the building.

Along the path, features such as roof lights and coloured recessed bays provide children with the opportunity to experience light, colours and shapes. Low windows allow children to see outside.

At the rear, the nursery has a garden, covered play area and roof terrace. The building is also situated next to an ambulance and police helipad, which staff say encourages a lot of conversation among the children.

The 95-place setting was completed and opened in March.

Business manager Adam Kelly said, ‘We have always been eager to improve our presence in that area of Glasgow, and with the opening of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital it seemed like a logical step to make a bid on the land across the street.

‘The nursery falls within the Govan “care community”, which was also a big draw. The community is composed of the hospital, care homes and other medical and charitable facilities, who we hope to continue to build relationships with now the nursery is up and running.

‘Also, this is the first time that Kirktonholme have had total design control over one of our centres, allowing us to create exactly what we wanted and needed, to offer the best possible service and care to our customers.’

• Yeoryia Manolopoulou and Anthony Boulanger of AY Architects will be running a workshop on nursery design at the Nursery World Business Summit on 8 November. AY created the award-winning Montpelier Community Nursery, with passive environmental design principles, and their session will include advice on working with parents, staff, children and the community, and creating spaces that are 'enabling environments'. Sign up at www.nuserybusiness-summit.com