Emma Eccles Jones Early Childhood Education and Research Center

The Early Childhood Education and Research Center includes the Center for Early Care and Education as well as a deaf education facility for children up to pre-school age. Each early childhood education classroom is outfitted with observation spaces for university pedagogical instruction and parent education. The building provides offices, classrooms, a facility for researchers for the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management, a Literacy Learning Laboratory, and a Child Language and Disorders Clinic.

Each classroom has direct access to south daylight and to the outdoor playground which resembles a nature hike. The indoor feature that links the classrooms, called the “Children’s Street”, is a fun compilation of ins and outs, ups and downs, and lights and darks for children to experience surprises around every corner. The corridors became metaphorical streams full of eddies, boulders, caves, and arches. The ceilings and clerestories are a cloud-filled sky, and the playground is a nature hike featuring several hundred feet of tricycle paths. The classrooms and research spaces are packed with highly detailed casework, observation spaces, sound booths, and specialized child-sized kitchens, bathrooms, and changing rooms.

Awards: Winner of “Best of Show” – Utah Masonry Council

Green: Utah State High Performance Building Standard

Size: 65,000 square feet

Budget: $13 million