Ophelia Brown-Lawson Head Start Facility

This 14,000 square foot building was designed to be fun and not institutional. It was intended to house and teach pre-schoolers. The exterior of the building has many curves while at the same time, the main body of the building is a practical and functional rectangular building. The building is divided onto three parts. The center of the building houses the offices, employee lounge, and conference room. There is a waving, meandering corridor around this area. None of the walls of the corridor are straight. Then, on the other side of the corridor are the classrooms, kitchen, and lobby. The regular classroom windows face the east and south, for the best natural sunlight possible. The lobby with its high ceiling faces north. The sun rarely comes in from the north in South Florida so this is a good exposure for an area with much glass. The windows throughout are shaded with wide curving eyebrows protecting them from direct sunlight. Each classroom has an individual handicap-accessible toilet facility for the students. In addition, there are separate toilet facilities for visitors and staff. Outside the building there is an extensive playground for the children with a bench which mimics the curves of the building next door.