Brighton Street Early Learning Centre by Danielle Brustman

Brighton Street Early Learning Centre, Design For Children, Photo Sean Fennessy | Yellowtrace

Working alongside Perkins Architects, Danielle Brustman has transformed the interiors of a brutalist concrete building into a colourful and imaginative world for children, housed within Brighton Street Early Learning Centre in Melbourne. Exposed concrete ceilings are softened by the pastel murals, gradient tiles, and playful shapes that now animate the building. The result is a welcoming and stimulating environment for children – far removed from the often-institutional interiors found in educational spaces.

The interior is brought to life with colour and murals hand-painted by Ben Maitland ( a.k.a. Boxcar Benny), creating bright and playful spaces for young children while retaining a contemporary refined feel. Brustman explains, “I regularly use colour in my interior design work and but it is not often that I get the opportunity to be as bold with the colour specification. This project was an ideal environment to treat each wall, bench surface, and material with a range of colour blends of varying hue and material.”

Danielle Brustman Brighton Street Early Learning Centre Design For Children Photo Sean Fennessey Yellowtrace 03

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Danielle Brustman Brighton Street Early Learning Centre Design For Children Photo Sean Fennessey Yellowtrace 04

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Danielle Brustman Brighton Street Early Learning Centre Design For Children Photo Sean Fennessey Yellowtrace 06

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Danielle Brustman Brighton Street Early Learning Centre Design For Children Photo Sean Fennessey Yellowtrace 08

Danielle Brustman Brighton Street Early Learning Centre Design For Children Photo Sean Fennessey Yellowtrace 09

Danielle Brustman Brighton Street Early Learning Centre Design For Children Photo Sean Fennessey Yellowtrace 10

Danielle Brustman Brighton Street Early Learning Centre Design For Children Photo Sean Fennessey Yellowtrace 11

Danielle Brustman Brighton Street Early Learning Centre Design For Children Photo Sean Fennessey Yellowtrace 12

Danielle Brustman Brighton Street Early Learning Centre Design For Children Photo Sean Fennessey Yellowtrace 13

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Geometric triangles stretch up a classroom wall in a sea of blue, green, and red tones. Where their shapes overlap, their colours change, creating a prismatic feature that is mirrored in the plush carpet lining the floor below. In another corner, the clean lines of a conventional doorway are clouded by a plush pink curved mural. The junction of organic curving forms and rectilinear geometries brings a playful voice to the room while maintaining a sophisticated architectural language.

“Children are so imaginative and less inhibited than us adults,” says Brustman. “It made complete sense to me that these spaces ought to be filled with both stimulating and inspiring visuals. I wanted to push the colour palette to its limits. I wanted it to be complex and colourful while still adhering to a level of sophistication, gentleness, and balance.”

Nailed it.