Customer Reviews

Child Care Design Guide

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Preeminent authority on design for child care, Anita Rui Olds consummated a lifetime of deep concern and research into the needs of children with the publication of this magnum opus. Lavish use of illustrations--photos, sketches, floor plans, and examples--and attractive layout support Ms. Olds's incisive text to create a remarkably accessible book. Many hundreds of child care professionals and architects who have studied under Ms. Olds will recognize and welcome this work as the summation of the concepts that placed the author at the forefront of her field.

More and more children are in institutional care and, "in search of a model," day care typically happens in society's "leftover" spaces, church basements, warehouses, and places intended for adults. This book will help anyone committed to doing better for our children to "see that young children are raised in nurturing, spirited settings that honor their precious young souls." (from the introduction)

The book's only drawback is technical as the reproduction of photographs is of disappointing quality.

Tragically, Anita Olds did not live to see this book published. We can be thankful that she left it for us, full of her passion for children. In its use we will honor her spirit as we effect her designs.

This is a terrific and necessary resource for anyone involved with the design or renovation of a child care setting. The author has clearly and concisely poured into the book her considerable knowledge and understanding of child care facilities, her passionate beliefs, and her attention to the details of good design. Her knowledge of child development is evident in all of her ideas.

Worth every dime!!! Anita Rui Olds has incredible insight into creating environments that are reflective of children and their interests. She believes that a child care setting should have "spirit." Included are Reggio-type environmental solutions that create a sense of wonder with an architecturally aesthetic sensibility. Lots of great ideas packed into this book. Only regret is that the pictures are too small and not in color. Would have been worth extra [$$] to have an expanded edition.

This must be the best book that exist about designing Child Care Center. It covers everything, but the most important is the focus the autor made on the children. This book is a must for every architect or people interested in design of this kind of buildings, specially if he/she is really interested in children well being.
The only but is that for the quality of its content, this book deserves a better paper and color pictures. (a 0 star here for MacGrow-Hill).
Probably this book is call to change the way a day care is seen today.

This is the first review I've ever felt compelled to write on Amazon. I'm so torn on this book-- Anita Rui Olds was absolutely the preeminent authority on designing spaces for young children, and the value of the information contained in this book alone makes it worth its weight in gold. But I was so terribly disappointed at the quality of the practically-newsprint, see-through pages and dark black & white photos! Even the COLOR charts are in black & white! A large portion of the value of these sorts of curriculum and environmental design guides is in the photographs, which provide both examples of the ideas outlined in the text and further inspiration. This is why I recommend a book like "Designs for Living and Learning" and other books by Deb Curtis and Margie Carter, because the photos in those books are absolutely gorgeous and definitely serve to inspire teachers and other early childhood professionals. But if you're planning to open a childcare center and you need the nitty-gritty details on what shape you want the building to be, how to lay out the floor plan, what colors to paint based on the age group of the children and purpose of the space, etc, then buy this book and just try to ignore the photos, because the information alone will be worthwhile for you.

I am an Interior Design masters degree student and I found this book to be very helpful for a recent studio project. The organization and depth of detail really helped guide my research. I would highly recommend this book if you are a serious design student!

This book was a great addition to the work that I do and the designing of a child care center. The author catches the essence of what is needed to consider when starting from scratch.
Great find! Great resource!!