Dock Woods Community Child Care Center
Dock Woods Community, located in Lansdale Pennsylvania, is a Senior Care Facility comprised of different units, including apartments, assisted living, personal care and dementia.
The recent expansion of this facility created many interesting outdoor spaces. The addition of a Child Care Center leads to exciting possibilities for inter-generational involvement. The Architect's design for the building created a central space that serves as a Main Courtyard. The residents' rooms, dining areas, activity rooms, lounge areas and Child Care Center are located around this central space. The Child Care Center provides service to the children of the Staff as well as the local community.
The program for this courtyard was developed through a collaboration of Community Staff Directors, Child Care, Nursing Facilities, and Maintenance, along with the Architect and Landscape Architect. Focusing on the needs of the elderly and children, along with staff and visitors, the design intent was to create a space for optimum interaction among the users. This interaction could be experienced through viewing, sitting, walking, swinging, playing, bike riding, water play, event areas, open lawn areas, and shade areas, all playing a role in the enrichment of daily life.
The gardens play a big role in allowing both children and adults to experience the beauty of nature. Walkways through the gardens lead to all aspects of the Courtyard, as well as circling back to their starting point. Stone trails off the main path provide for exploration of the woodland understory. Open lawn areas allow for ball play and free play. Sculpture and artwork accent the natural elements of the garden creating environmental awareness.
The Preschool Playground is located immediately outside of the Child Care Center, acting as a focal point of active play. The children ride their trikes into the path, flowing out into the courtyard to a bog garden, featuring a series of ground sprays for hot summer days, when children run and laugh in water play. The Director of the Child Care Center had a real desire to make the playground equipment look natural and feel like it was part of the environment. The Preschool Playground is designed for ages 3 years to 5 years, and incorporates a tire swing, a two-bay swing, a playstructure and a large sand box. Of primary importance were climbing apparatuses, a Spiral Slide and handicap accessibility.
The Infant/Toddler Playground, designed for ages 0 years to 3 years, is located in a smaller courtyard on the opposite side of the Child Care Center. The children play on rubber safety matting, a requirement of the Department of Welfare, and enjoy a Toddlertown playstructure, a sand box, swings and a teeter. The courtyard area is also used by dementia patients, creating the need for a low fence between the play area and the walking path, allowing for visual and social interaction.
Programming for the Child Care Center is planned and informal. As explained by the Program Director, "The children are not here to entertain the elderly. They are here to develop relationships, as it might be if their grandparents lived next-door." Through day-to-day encounters, the residents and children learn each other's names and learn to respect each other. Some residents volunteer their time to help the children in their routine. The child care staff take the children for walks, visiting people and places to help them understand what the community is about. One of the Child Care Center's goals is "to make children's exploration of the wonders of the many environments exciting and safe."
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