COX VOX: Behind the Design of St. Luke’s Early Learning Community with Belinda Barnes

The environments we create for early learning shape more than education – they influence a child’s first experiences of community, connection, and belonging.

COX Senior Associate, Belinda Barnes, sat down with our client, the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn, to discuss the design of St Luke’s Early Learning Community in Chapman. The conversation explores how the project brings together landscape, learning, and community to create a place that feels intuitive, welcoming, and deeply connected to its context.

What was the initial design brief?

The initial brief for St. Luke’s Early Learning Community in Chapman emerged from a broader site investigation for the Anglican Diocese, exploring a range of potential uses. An Early Learning Centre was identified as the most appropriate outcome, with a strong emphasis on creating a place where the wellbeing of both children and staff sits at the heart of the learning environment.

From the outset, the brief called for more than a typical childcare facility. It needed to incorporate a community commons and reflect the Anglican focus on connection and community-building, alongside principles of the Reggio Emilia learning philosophy—prioritising curiosity, interaction, and engagement with the environment.

Early design investigations focused on how to organise the centre across two levels while maximising natural light and fostering meaningful interaction. The building’s placement responds directly to its neighbours: the upper-level entry aligns with the shops, creating a strong pedestrian connection, while the lower level engages with the primary school.

How did it evolve during the early concept stages?

Orientation was one of the first key moves. We identified the portions of the site with the best northern and eastern solar access and prioritised these areas for shared, high-energy uses. This led to the idea of a centralised gathering space, expressed through a circular geometry – both a practical response to light and a symbolic one, reinforcing unity and community.

From there, the concept of community was developed through the landscape itself. The ground plane is folded up and around the building, creating a protective, embracing form that connects the lower and upper levels. The circular planning also enables playrooms to face one another, encouraging interaction and a shared sense of belonging.

Connection became the third key layer. A pavilion element was introduced at the upper level, oriented north and aligned with the public realm, clearly marking the building’s address and entry.

Reggio Emilia places strong emphasis on “environment as the third teacher.” How did you translate that idea into the building’s spatial layout and material choices?

We translated this into the design by treating the building and landscape as an active participant in the learning experience.

The scheme is organised as a grounded form, with the landscape folded across two levels and wrapped around a central courtyard. At the lower level, the early learning play hubs are arranged in a circular layout, allowing children to maintain visual connections with neighbouring spaces. This fosters a sense of awareness, belonging, and social development.

Materially, the palette is warm, tactile, and honest – chosen to feel natural and inviting, while supporting sensory engagement. The environment is not just a backdrop, but a teaching tool – encouraging exploration, interaction, and curiosity in everyday use.

The project includes a series of common areas and interconnected play hubs. What design strategies were used to support flexible, discovery‑based learning across these spaces?

The project brings together a series of common areas and interconnected play hubs. Within the ground floor play hubs, spaces are deliberately varied – ranging from larger, open areas that encourage group interaction to smaller, more intimate settings that support quiet, focused activity.

This diversity allows children to move fluidly between environments, supporting self-guided, discovery-based learning and giving them a sense of agency in how they engage with the space.

Natural light enhances comfort and wellbeing, while the warm, earthy material palette creates a calm and inviting atmosphere. These strategies create flexible spaces that can adapt to different activities, fostering curiosity, exploration, and social learning.

How did you approach the design of the play courtyards to support different age groups while maintaining a cohesive, safe, and engaging environment?

The outdoor spaces are zoned to respond to different age groups while maintaining a unified design language. Dedicated areas for babies are located on the upper level, providing a secure and controlled environment tailored to their developmental needs, while still allowing connection to the broader centre.

For older children, play areas are located at the lower level, directly connected to the central courtyard and learning spaces. These areas encourage exploration and independence, with clear sightlines ensuring safety and supervision.

What were the biggest design challenges presented by the site, such as slope, wind, or residential adjacency, and how did you resolve them?

The steeply sloping site was one of the primary challenges, particularly in balancing accessibility, safety, and functional planning. Rather than resisting the topography, the design works with it – splitting the building across two levels and using the landscape to mediate between them.

It also allows the building to connect meaningfully to its neighbours at different levels, including the adjacent shops and primary school, while managing overlooking and maintaining a respectful relationship to the surrounding residential context.

The materials palette includes rendered masonry, lightweight cladding, glass. What drove those decisions, and how do they support the building’s character and function?

The material palette reflects the dual nature of the building. The lower level is expressed as a grounded, protective form in rendered masonry with earthy tones. This element wraps the courtyard and incorporates deep apertures that create sheltered, cave-like spaces –supporting both play and retreat while reinforcing a strong connection to the landscape.

Above, a lightweight pavilion responds to the suburban scale, presenting as a more refined and open structure. Generous glazing and a warm timber-lined ceiling bring continuity and softness to the interior, while drawing natural light deep into the building and guiding users toward the central Commons.

The ELC aims to be a community space for both children and parents. How did you design for parent gathering, staff experience, and broader community connection?

At the heart of the project is the Commons – a flexible, multi-purpose space designed to support daily interactions as well as broader community use. It is connected by a light-filled stair that encourages pause and informal exchange to deepen a sense of community between families and staff.

The Commons accommodates play, learning, dining, and parish gatherings, and maintains a direct relationship with the central courtyard – allowing parents and educators to remain visually connected to children and activities.

What aspects of user experience were most important for you to get right?

Clarity and ease of movement were key priorities. The building is designed to be intuitive to navigate, reducing stress during busy moments like drop-off and pick-up. Safety is embedded throughout, with clear sightlines, controlled access points, and strong visual connections between spaces.

Equally important was ensuring staff are supported through functional, comfortable spaces that respond to their day-to-day needs, balancing operational efficiency with a positive and uplifting environment.

The brief required flexibility to adapt as early‑learning models change. How does the building’s design enable long‑term adaptability? 

Flexibility is embedded in the planning of the play hubs and shared spaces, allowing them to accommodate a range of age groups and activities over time. Operable connections between spaces enable play hubs to expand or contract as needed throughout the day, supporting different learning modes while maintaining clear supervision.

This approach ensures the building can adapt to changing educational models and community needs without requiring significant physical alteration.

Looking back, what are you most proud of in the final design of the building?

One of the most rewarding aspects of the project is the way the design fosters connection. Children are not confined to isolated rooms; instead, they remain visually and physically connected through shared spaces, circulation, and the central courtyard.

It is hoped that the space enables a nurturing, community-focused environment for the youngest members of society – supporting social development through awareness, interaction, and a strong sense of belonging, while extending these connections to families and the wider community.

On a day-to-day basis, the layout allows opportunities for siblings and friends to see and interact with one another, helping to build relationships and social confidence from an early age.

What do you hope children, educators, and families feel when they experience the space for the first time?

A sense of warmth and welcome.

The environment is designed to feel intuitive and comfortable – reassuring for parents, accessible for children, and supportive for educators. Above all, we hope it feels like a place where people can connect easily, settle in quickly, and feel part of a community.

We thank the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn for the opportunity to collaborate on St Luke’s Early Learning Community. The full interview with Belinda Barnes can be read on the St Luke’s Early Learning Community website.

Photography credit: Adam McGrath