The Discover Children’s Story Centre is the UK’s centre for children’s literature, celebrating storytelling in amazing immersive story worlds across 5 floors of an imposing Victorian building in Stratford, East London.
The project included re-design, repair and de-carbonisation works to the building and its’ garden to better connect it to it’s urban environment, the natural world and it’s local community. JKA worked closely with Prof. Sam Wass, Director of the Institute for the Science of Early Years and through a multi-lateral engagement process with local children and families including the children from Mighty Mega, a Saturday club for disabled children and children with SEN to develop proposals that ended up securing £3m in grant funding from various organisations.
During phase 1, we replaced polluting gas boilers with a series of air source heat pumps and to attract attention, installed an inflatable monster on the roof of the building. Phase 2 included the creation of submarine-themed toilets using reclaimed and recycled pipework, gauges and valves. During phase 3, we created a sensory early years space with magical cushion islands, tippees, waterplay and recorded birdsong, a new quiet room to ensure that children with additional needs have a space of respite from the bustle of the play spaces and a new cafe and bookshop with a furry ticket booth, a play mezzanine and reading cubbies. Works are now progressing on the next project stage which will see a tree complete with tree houses installed inside one of the building’s light wells.
Our project opens another chapter in the dynamic world of children’s literature, creating a rare space for real, spatial and tactile experiences in an increasingly digital world.
