Nye Early Childhood Center

The Nye Early Childhood Center is a Pre-school for DD / special-needs (autistic, medically fragile) children and typical peers. It was located within an elementary school, but the need for expansion of both programs required it to be moved off site. Vigil & Associates has worked closely with SFPS to design a new facility using an abandoned existing abandoned school site.

V&A took the time to gain an understanding of how the Center operates and the site functions considering the various design implications resulting from serving special needs students. We interviewed teachers and staff, observed school operations, prepared a utilization study, and created a program document and held numerous meetings with SFPS and the building design committee to establish the needs and wants for the project.

The new Nye Center included a large classroom wing addition, student commons, multipurpose room, physical therapy suite, therapy offices, administration and staff areas, warming kitchen and support spaces. The new facility serves 200 students in the Nye program and 55 students in the Head Start program, with space for future expansion. There is a variety of outdoor spaces around the facility, providing many opportunities for active and quiet play, structured activities, educational activities, peer interaction and exploration of nature.

• District-wide pre-school designed for special education, medically fragile children, and typical peers
• Sustainable, special services centered, high-performance school
• Universal accessibility
• Worked closely with the Owner throughout