UC Berkeley University Village Infant Childcare Center
The UC Berkeley University Village Infant Childcare Center transforms two residential student housing units into a 2,051 SF childcare facility for infants and toddlers aged 3–15 months, achieving numerous childcare certification requirements. By utilizing a cost-effective surgical demolition approach to remove existing walls and strategically adding minimal new elements, the design creates a seamless flow of play, dining, and rest spaces for children. These areas ensure continuous sightlines for staff supervision and include one staff restroom and one for children’s use, both located in their original positions. Additional staff support spaces include a kitchen, laundry room, and office.
A design opportunity that arose from the two units’ differing elevations resulted in a playful, accessible ramp that bridges the 1-foot level difference while offering views of a new play yard and cocooning a toddler library with low-height walls. While meeting updated mechanical system requirements the newly added ceiling soffits—referencing the building’s gabled roof—define activity niches that are appropriately scaled for toddlers. The center features cool colors that mark spatial transitions and are sensitive to neurodivergent children’s needs, while seamless, easy-to-clean surfaces ensure a healthy environment.
In addition to the facility itself, the childcare center opens onto an expansive 2,114 SF rear play yard, establishing new indoor-outdoor connections with the previously fenced-off UC Village picnic area. The redesigned landscape includes regrading, planting, and textural paving materials like soft poured-in-place rubber, wood chips, and natural softscapes, all chosen to enhance infants’ tactile experiences, mobility, and connection to nature in a safe play area. A new wood shade structure attached to the building provides a sheltered outdoor classroom space. Our team was involved in every phase of the project, from conceptual design through construction administration.
