Czarina Facun

The Don Valley Children's Centre

Environmental Design

2022

A carefully curated children's space as a catalyst for community support and gathering, as well as cultural celebration.

“The Don Valley Children’s Centre is meant to be a catalyst for the growth and integration of immigrants, specifically children. Flemingdon Park, rich in its resources for immigrants provides a variety of support programs and services for settling families and adults. Noticing a gap in childrens support, the Childrens Center wages that gap in creating a safe space where these children can rely on community resources and support, all while building social skills and relationships. Centered around the view of the valley, the Centre also rewrites the narrative of what needing help can mean to immigrants. With enough barriers of culture, language, age, and more, reaching out for support can be a difficult and sometimes shameful thing. Changing this, all while supporting children and fostering healthy community relationships, the centre also becomes a landmark of pride, showing how assistance and resolution can strengthen families and a community, and become a beautiful thing.”