Armadillo Crèche is the design for an early childhood development (ECD) center in Johannesburg, South Africa. It accommodates 80 children and houses a teacher-training center. Standing on an elevated site, the ECD center is a beacon for education.
To embrace the necessity of a fence, the design likens itself to an armadillo: it curls in on itself, protecting its soft underbelly with a hard shell. The design integrates the boundary condition with the buildings and landscape, creating zones of different scales for various activities as it unfurls. At the heart of the ECD center lie communal programs: a semi-outdoor dining space and a paved play area. These communal spaces are angled to open up to views of the natural conservation zone.

PROFESSORS:
Jeremy Foster, Kifle G Gebremedhin, Werner Goehner, George Hascup, Alex Mergold, Arthur Ovaska, Andrea Simitch

STUDENTS VOLUNTEERS:
Barry Beagen (Project Director), Andrew Fu (Lead Designer), Shuping Liu (Construction Drawing Coordinator), Thomas Shouler (Structural Engineer), Jonathan Leape (Construction Manager), Mikey Jiang (Utilities), Karen Chi-Chi Lin (Marketing and Communications), Carly Dean (Exhibition Director and On-Site Safety Manager), Jesse McElwain (Director of Development)

Sidney Beaty, 
Joe Beaudette, Yen Chiang, Christine Chung, Alex Cote,
 Jorge Cuervo Manrique, Mercedes Cuvi,
 Will Dibernardo, Robert Dicker,
 Juliette Dubroca, 
Mary Bray Erickson, Ben Fleury, 
Jessica Fracassini, Stephanie Glass, Stephanie Gitto, Mikhail Grinwald, Wendy Gu,
 Peter Gudonis,
 Laura Hammerer, Donald Hicks,
 Wei-Yen Hsieh, Siyabonga Jezile, Alexandrea Klimoski, Yoonjee Koh, 
Joecyln Kuo,
 Tiffany Kuo,
 Johnny Lau,
 Brian Lee,
 Michael Lee,
 Jacqueline Liu,
 Daniel Lu,
 Erin Pellegrino, 
Lexi Quint,
 Jake Rudin,
 Eric Rutgers,
 Lillian Simon,
 Alex Simpson,
 Tito Soto, 
Elliot Sperling,
 Carina Steinhoff, 
Jose Tijerina,
Daniel Torres,
 Maria Villarraga,
 Shu Wang