The Rooftop Nursery is part of a publicly funded initiative that aims to get mothers back to work by offering affordable children care. Given the high costs of land, the design strategy from the outset was to minimise plot requirements. This was achieved by placing the principle outdoor play space on the roof. This provides a secured area (one can only access the play roof via inside the building) for motor skills (tricycling, ball sports...) whilst simultaneously offering good relational views back to the colourful neighbourhood that the children come from. The play roof was a technical innovation as it was the UK’s first granulated rubber play roof. The interior play space is fluid and adaptable thanks to the innovative coupling of two moving architectural elements: hard walls (made from translucent acrylic honeycomb screens) and soft walls (curtained alcoves made from coloured plastic, velvet or silver thermo drape). These two elements allow the plan organisation to be configured into at least 50 different layouts – at least one per child! The children are thus cared for in an environment that can be reconfigured in terms of size, scale and materiality: rooms that are simultaneously big-small, open-closed, wet-dry, light-dark according to the dedicated activities within.