TCC Magazine - Tacoma Community College

sustaining
our future
Photos courtesy of
Dane Gregory Meyer
e a r l y l e a r n i n g center A building designed for children
This fall, the Annette B.
Weyerhaeuser Early Learning
Center opened to serve the
children of TCC’s students,
faculty and staff. The new
$6.6 million Early Learning
Center is a leading-edge childcentered
learning environment.
Designed to serve 86 children
from one month through five
years of age—the new ELC
serves twice the number of
children served in the previous
Children’s Center.
4 TCC Magazine Fall 2008
Carefully-crafted, developmentallyappropriate
areas for young
children throughout the interior
and exterior spaces allow children
to explore, grow and develop.
Says ELC director Olga Webstad:
“When we were designing the
Center, we asked each other:
‘What did we do when we were
children—what are our best
memories of being kids?’ The center
has a hill to climb and to roll down,
trees with leaves to rake, a handoperated
water pump with buckets
to fill, a big sand area, and space to
run and play and explore.”
The interior features radiantheat
flooring, natural ventilation
for improved indoor air quality,
natural lighting for reduced energy
consumption—and details such
as reduced water use, diversion of
construction waste and optimal
energy performance—that add
up to a healthy learning space for
children that’s also easy on the
environment. Signage throughout
the interior and exterior allows
students and visitors to learn
about the sustainability features
of the LEED certified center, with
symbols related to recycling and
sustainability. “Older kids will
receive education in sustainability
and recycling, and there will be
raised planters for a garden – and
worms,” says Webstad. “Recycling
is ongoing, and it’s part of their
education.”