The daycare for River Green Village is sited next to a green space that is protected for its environmentally sensitive habitat and to retain a portion of the woodlot planted by an early settler, Samuel Brighouse. The outdoor play space is an intimate courtyard with open views into the woods through large windows in the fence. This natural backdrop is reinforced by play features that use natural materials such as wood log play structures, tree stumps, and stepping stones. Creative and interactive play is encouraged with moveable elements, sand and water.
The central play structure has a roof form that repeats the chain of gabled roofs that is invoked by the daycare’s architectural concept to reference the simple gabled roofs of the area’s agricultural past. The River Road frontage is where the overall heritage strategy for River Green focuses on the site’s CPR Rail history. The public realm landscape evokes the railway history with train tracks in a wooden deck and pump trucks as seating and play features. The railway theme extends into the daycare’s play area with train wheel in the play structures and other train motifs.
The landscape uses extensive native plantings and a variety of surface treatments to add interest and to define active and quiet zones. A raised sloped roof above the parking entry at the northeast corner of the play area is celebrated with turf slides, climbing ropes and handholds, a musical fence, and a hut at the high point.
