Footstep Pre-school / Parsonson Architects

Footstep Pre-school / Parsonson Architects - Exterior PhotographyFootstep Pre-school / Parsonson Architects - Interior Photography, Shelving, Table, ChairFootstep Pre-school / Parsonson Architects - Interior Photography, KitchenFootstep Pre-school / Parsonson Architects - Exterior Photography, Stairs, Facade, ArchFootstep Pre-school / Parsonson Architects - More Images+ 21

Palmerston North, New Zealand
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  360
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2021
  • Photographs
    Photographs:Paul McCredie
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  AutoDesk, Coloursteel, Forbo, JNL, James Hardie, Numat, Velux
  • Lead Architects: Gerald Parsonson, Craig Burt
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Footstep Pre-school / Parsonson Architects - Exterior Photography
© Paul McCredie

Text description provided by the architects. Footsteps is a pre-school designed for the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Palmerston North. It is located on a large property in a commercial/retail area, backing onto a local primary school. The building occupies half the site with car parking and garden areas to the north. The building has been pushed to the street edge to engage with passers-by, different from the ‘big box' retail outlets nearby, which sit behind large car-parks.

Footstep Pre-school / Parsonson Architects - Exterior Photography, Facade
© Paul McCredie
Footstep Pre-school / Parsonson Architects - Image 25 of 26
Plan - Ground floor
Footstep Pre-school / Parsonson Architects - Interior Photography
© Paul McCredie
Footstep Pre-school / Parsonson Architects - Interior Photography, Shelving, Table, Chair
© Paul McCredie

The project was built to a relatively tight budget and is based around a prefabricated Coresteel gabled shed structure with a section of roof raised at the street edge to mark the building's presence. Colored panels and vertical rhythms are used to accentuate this and guide visitors into the building. Randomly placed circular windows allow the children to engage with activity in the street and vice versa. Circular motifs, playful colors, and rhythmic detailing punctuate what is fundamentally just a simple shed.

Footstep Pre-school / Parsonson Architects - Interior Photography
© Paul McCredie

Entry into the pre-school angles into the building on the diagonal, offering views across indoor and outdoor play spaces before arriving at the reception. Once inside areas are divided into under two’s and over two’s. The main space is the over two’s an indoor play area, which has service spaces, kitchen, and bathrooms running along its southern edge, with a large indoor/outdoor area to the north that can be closed off in bad weather, which leads out to generous outdoor play areas.

Footstep Pre-school / Parsonson Architects - Exterior Photography
© Paul McCredie
Footstep Pre-school / Parsonson Architects - Image 26 of 26
Elevations
Footstep Pre-school / Parsonson Architects - Exterior Photography, Stairs, Facade, Arch
© Paul McCredie

Flexible, functional, and playful furniture has been developed with a quest for economy. Tables are cut out in different shaped sections of melamine-coated plywood mounted on standard legs, allowing for users to create varying combinations of shapes depending on activities. Large drainage pipes are cut and joined together to make bag storage areas and climbing holes.

Footstep Pre-school / Parsonson Architects - Exterior Photography
© Paul McCredie

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Project location

Address:Palmerston North, New Zealand

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "Footstep Pre-school / Parsonson Architects" 12 Sep 2021. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/968221/footstep-pre-school-parsonson-architects> ISSN 0719-8884

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