Spaces Fit for Children

Competency in the Design of Daycare Center Environments

Abstract

The designed environment can promote competency - the ability to interact effectively with one's surroundings - by providing a balance between individual capabilities and environmental challenge. We argue that design elements can offer scaffolding to enable children to function at the boundaries of pre-existing capabilities. Critical design elements that afford the development of competency in preschool children include control, privacy, complexity, exploration, restoration, place identity, legibility, and safety. Control is the ability to use physical resources to meet user needs. The regulation of social interaction requires privacy. Balanced variety and mystery create a complex space that may encourage healthy environmental interactions. Similar environmental interactions may also take place in spaces that support exploration. Restorative environments provide a chance for recovery from fatigue. Ownership, attachment, and familiarity are feelings that can be expressed in the physical environment tosupport the development of place identities. Legible environments can be organized into a comprehensible pattern, preventing feelings of confusion. Safe environments minimize hazardous conditions that may prevent the development of competence.