Fawood Children's Centre, North London

A striking children's centre that breaks new ground in the design of nursery facilities, the brightly coloured Fawood Children's Centre in North London, is a new project by UK architectural practice Alsop.

It is hard not to warm to the project with it's huge, brightly coloured, vibrant tent-like structure, was built for the area's pre-schoolers and designed to form the focal point of a regenerated London estate. And was also built on a shoestring budget for just £2.3 million!

Most local authority nurseries comprise a central bungalow surrounded by an open-air play area, useless for much of the year thanks to the British climate. But Alsop was determined to get away from the traditional nursery style, which Alsop's figurehead Will Alsop claims seems "designed to stifle the childhood imagination".

Instead, Alsop has built an enormous "circus tent" like structure, designed to be playful, mischievous, safe and practical: a fantastic resource for parents and pre-school children in one of London's most deprived areas. Children are largely protected from the elements by a lightweight roof, although there is a piazza for outdoor picnics. Teaching areas are provided by three storeys of brightly coloured, recycled sea containers, complete with underfloor heating and connected by decked walkways. At playtime, the children can enjoy the largest sandpit in the borough, a stage, a treehouse, a science garden, a climbing frame, not to mention a Mongolian yurt! - Boo! Some of us miss out on all the fun!