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Tauranga
The Te Puna centre is hoping to embody the stylised atmosphere inspired by the wondrous and crazily creative children's books by Dr. Seuss.
Above and Beyond Early Childhood Centre is a one-of-a-kind wonderland, dedicated to the explorative and creative play of children that will, by nature, nurture and educate. The Te Puna centre seeks to offer that same warm, exciting and creative experience as the Gate Pa centre, though under a differently themed umbrella.
Where Above and Beyond Gate Pa loosely themed itself after a child's 'Alice in Wonderland' experience, the Te Puna centre is hoping to embody the stylised atmosphere inspired by the wondrous and crazily creative children's books by Dr. Seuss. The story 'Oh The Places You'll Go' particularly seems to capture the very heart of what Colleen Fryett would want for every beautiful child she has the privilege of caring for at her centres. It is a poem that invites children to discover.
The Te Puna centre seeks to be a place of love, discovery and enchanted excitement for the precious little ones to explore themselves, others and the world around them. Many other Dr. Seuss books have contributed to the design concepts for this space.
The design team made the most of Resene's tireless and passionate dedication for exploring and creating colour. The enormous and carefully hued Resene colour palettes were an obvious choice when choosing the colour schemes for the Te Puna centre. What can only be described as a carefully balanced selection of energised pastels and their contrasting counter colours were decided.
Each age group had its carefully selected colour range based upon intricate understanding of child development and colour psychology.
The external walls were finished in Resene Lumbersider in a range of hues of Resene Guardsman Red, Resene Knock Out and Resene Eighth Rice Cake. Inside, feature colours of Resene Eminence, Resene Sunshade , Resene Eighth Rice Cake, Resene Renew, Resene Spring Fever and custom mixed hues.
Externally, the daring decision of striping Resene Knock Out and Resene Guardsman Red was in fact a visual nod, a rhyme in Dr. Seuss’s book 'Oh the thinks you can think', which encompasses the heart of our design – "You can think about Red. You can think about Pink. You can think up a horse. Oh the thinks you can think."
There was the challenge of balancing what it meant to be inspired by a theme and not copying a theme. Dr. Seuss holds very strict copyright laws and also we wanted only an essence of that design, not to be branded or copy any Dr. Seuss imagery. All of the organic styled architraves and design features were created from the designer's imagination and free hand designed.
Every design and colour decision was deliberate and not based on current style trends but aimed to speak life, hope, discovery and creativity. The design was chosen to inspire creativity and continually ask the next generations… what's next?
Products used: Resene Enamacryl, Resene Lumbersider, Resene Blackboard Paint, Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen, Resene X-200.
For more information: Environmental Choice and Resene CoolColour™
Architectural specifier: Jmac Design (Base Build)
Building contractor: CBC Construction (Base Build), Taylor Made Carpenters (Fit out)
Client: Above and Beyond Education and Care Centres
Interior designer: Laura Sanchez
Painting contractor – base build: Safari Painters
Painting contractor – fit-out: Nigel Rachinger
Project: Resene Total Colour Awards 2014
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