studioMLA Attends the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of the Lincoln Labs/MIT Development Center

MIT Lincoln Laboratory’s Director Dr. Eric Evans and MIT Vice President for Human Resources Lorraine Goffe-Rush presided over the official ribbon cutting at the new Technology Childcare Center at Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington Massachusetts on June 8th. The new, state-of-the-art center is the result of an 18-month collaboration between studioMLA Architects, the MIT WorkLife Center, and Bright Horizons Family Solutions. The new center provides an engaging, welcoming environment for children and families that reflects Lincoln Laboratory’s and MIT’s culture of exploration and innovation.

The studioMLA landscape/playscape design team creatively transformed a parking lot and overgrown thicket into an outdoor play and learning space that supports open-ended exploration and active play and gives children free access to a large natural wooded area. Mary Lou Burke Afonso, Chief Operating Officer of Bright Horizons, also in attendance, was especially pleased with the natural feel of the play space and the opportunity to have a true nature play and exploration area in the “woods”.

The center serves children from Infant through pre-kindergarten with spacious airy classrooms and dedicated, age appropriate enhancement spaces including an infant/toddler sensory space, an “investigations” space to support STEM activities, a children’s library and two large, open indoor spaces for active play and creative projects. The studioMLA design team worked closely with The Work Life Center and parents and staff of the existing Lincoln Laboratory’s child care center to ensure that the new spaces not only fully support the desired culture and curriculum but also enable the pedagogical team to envision activities and children’s projects that would not have otherwise been possible.

The +/- 12,000 square foot center serves 108 children 3 months to 5 years of age, mainly families of Lincoln Labs employees. The design process kicked off in early 2015 and construction was begun the summer of 2015 and completed ahead of schedule in May 2016.