Capilano University Fulmer Family Center For Childhood Studies

English description provided by the architects.

Designed as a shared home for children across four cohorts and future educators, the Center integrates licensed child care spaces with Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) teaching areas to support a seamless relationship between care and education, while also addressing a regional gap in child care capacity.

On the second floor, the Strada connects to ECCE teaching and faculty spaces. Open to the level below and naturally lit from above, it creates visual and auditory links between educators and the child care environment, enriching opportunities for experiential learning.

All child care cohorts face the forest, with floor-to-ceiling glazing that blurs the boundary between indoor and outdoor learning.

From the outside, the building reflects its local context. Its linear form and expressive mass timber structure are regionally distinctive.

Along the building's edges, the low roof and drip lines create a scale suited to its young occupants and promote solar access for the north-facing outdoor play area.

The building showcases wood at every turn. At its center, Douglas Fir glulam dendritic columns branch out like trees, rising to the clerestory glazing and framing views of the treetops.

Similarly, Douglas Fir panels and millwork line the child care spaces, providing durable wall protection while visually connecting interior and exterior play areas.

The Center's cladding also tells a story: the use of durable charcoal-tinted cedar was inspired by the children's exploratory art curriculum, which involves creating charcoal through burning and drawing, an everyday material transformed into an architectural expression.