Bower Busy Bees

Bower Busy Bees is a small rural nursery in Caithness, North Highlands of Scotland, and the only outdoor centred nursery in the country. As an integral part of the village, the nursery is closely connected to the local community. Busy Bees nursery and the village’s community approached JTD to design an outdoor shelter that would expand the existing space and enable the children to make wider use of the forest area in the winter months.

The brief called for a low-impact, beautiful and inclusive design that would complement the natural surrounding forest whilst serving for multifunctional use with wood burning stove and outdoor decking and be a place to inspire the children, forming a ‘place of wonder’.

JTD proposed using a U Build modular construction system comprising a fully demountable, reusable and recyclable flat pack kit made from timber parts, allowing local members of the community to participate and take ownership in the assembly of the shelter.

The ground floor features a spacious playroom, with a wood-burning stove as its centrepiece, whilst the first-floor functions as a quieter resting/reading area. An external view from the playground shows the intentional positioning of the shelter in and around the trees, helping it serve as an extension of the natural landscape.