Hollis + Miller Architects was tasked with the completion of Joplin Early Childhood Center as a final step in rebuilding the city of Joplin, Missouri.

After seven years in temporary classrooms, Joplin’s littlest learners finally have a home for learning and exploring. This is “Where it all Begins…”. Teachers can now collaborate together to utilize shared learning centers that are integral to their early education curriculum, rather than having to house these centers in their classrooms, which has freed up space in their rooms for more individual and group learning.

It was important for the Joplin community that their Early Childhood Center feels more like a home than a school to ease the transition for students. This space comes alive thanks to the integration of the environmental graphics. Students and visitors are immersed in a forest of trees and critters. The Learning Grove opens learners’ imaginations with construction and water play stations, as well as a tricycle track, blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor learning.

In May 2011, an F-5 tornado struck the city of Joplin, devastating the community. The District’s early childhood center is the last piece of Operation Rebuild.

Architect: Hollis + Miller Architects
Photography: Alistair Tutton