Over the years Creative For Kids has designed a variety of building styles for various churches. First, in this article I’d like to spend some time talking about the kinds of buildings that can be created inside a KidsTown.
Building Types: All Ages: Community Service
- Church
- Post Office
- Fire Station
- Police Station
- City Hall
- Hospital
- Bank
- Grocery Store
- Library
- Train Station
Building Types That Appeal to Younger Ages:
- Pet Shop
- Music Store
- Candy Store/Candy Factory
- Ice Cream Shoppe
- Toy Store
- Flower Shop
- Bakery
Building Types That Appeal to Older Ages:
- Pizza parlor
- Planetarium
- Aquarium
- Hair Studio
- News Stand
- Observatory
- Tea Shoppe
- Fruit Stand
- Clock Shop
- Gym
- Café
- Outfitters
- Bowling
- Arcade/Game Store
- Theater
- TV Station
- Laboratory
- Music Store
As you look at this list keep in mind that some buildings will work in both younger and older ages depending on how you style the building. Typically, I recommend that some Community Service buildings always be included. You may want to also consider including some buildings within your design layout that are recognized by your local community because they are famous or historical.
Building Styles
The age group of the area determines the style of the building. Younger age children, younger age styling, older age children, older age styling. You can also have more realism, or less. When we work with a church we strive to design KidsTown themes with a fun and whimsical look that fits in well with their needs and the needs of their community.
Here are a couple examples I sketched out to demonstrate how you can create different styles of the same building. Remember this is only 2 different styles; the options of styles that could represent the same “Bakery” are limitless.
When designing the windows, doors, and building structure we always try to keep the building type in mind. For example, when I am designing a police station I think about what represents the police. For me, that would include a clean look, with possible bars over windows, or using a star, badge, or siren light, in key places to illustrate the type of building it is without having to look at the sign that says “Police Station”. Take some time to look at images of Police Stations to see how they are designed to inspire your creativity. Remember, if you need assistance creating a Kidstown for your invironment Creative For Kids can help. We assist in three different ways; you do it, we partner with you to do it, or we do it for you! Contact us today to have all your questions answered!
Over the years I have painted many different buildings and windows. Here are some to inspire you…
