Located on a steeply sloping site in South Norwood the design of Cypress Children’s Centre transforms a municipal nursery building into a vibrant early years and family hub. The existing building was retained and integrated into a new composition of pitched roof volumes defining rooms of varying scales and volumes, each with a strong spatial identity. Covered play terraces and wide thresholds blur the boundaries between inside and outside, encouraging fluid, all-weather use and strengthening the connection to the landscape.

Crucially, the new extension opens up parts of the site that were previously inaccessible, transforming disused grounds into spaces for outdoor learning, play, and wider community use. The building now supports a broad range of services for families, from pregnancy through to age twelve, enabling the school to act as a vital support hub within the neighbourhood. The material palette and robust detailing respond to both the children’s needs and the building’s civic role. Recognition of the project’s impact came through an RIBA Award and nominations for Brick and 3R Awards, with the school’s headteacher also nominated for the RIBA Client of the Year - a testament to her vision and the collaboration behind the project.