discover meadows child development center.
astrazeneca

The AstraZeneca Discovery Meadows Child Development Center provides safe, high-quality on-site childcare to the children of AstraZeneca’s employees and local surrounding families in the Gaithersburg, Maryland area. The expansive area for the outdoor play offers ideal opportunities for connecting children with nature and supporting their curriculum centered on exploring and understanding the natural world.

Through a series of engaging concept design meetings, we developed a guiding principle of “simple elegance” through the entire design process. With every classroom having direct access to the outdoors, children can flow easily from indoors to out, and providing teachers a multitude of opportunities for outdoor learning and exploration.

Nature was the leading influence while designing Discovery Meadows. The curved building frames the forested area and the outdoor play areas can be accessed by in the facility. The 23,500 SF two-level center also provides gardening and outdoor seating experiences on the second floor level. The program accommodates 180 children ranging from infants through preschoolers and includes an after-school component for kids ages 5-11, with age-appropriate play spaces for all the age groups.

Discovery Meadows was completed in 2017 and achieved LEED Platinum Certification. The project earned the K-12 Education Award of Merit from Engineering News Record Mid-Atlantic in 2018. In 2020, the project was awarded Innovative Project of the Year – New Construction, Commercial from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) National Capital Region.

*Project completed as studioMLA Architects prior to acquisition by Ashley McGraw Architects