The project is the product of community involvement. Curtiss's children attended the school and she worked with the husband-and-wife team Eric and Sarah Olson for the bench/bookcase near the entrance. "Eric is getting his architecture license and he used the project for his required community service hours," she says. "We used FinPly precut into strips based on a cut pattern that Eric developed. It was a really nice way to get a hand hewn look into an otherwise off the shelf space. It also was part of the community building ethos of the space. One former parent donated his shop space for Eric to work and use his equipment." The Manzanita tree came from the farm of a Sweet Pea teacher's parents' farm. "We wanted a tree to bring down the scale of the space to kid level around the reading area using a natural element that could get decorated with craft projects," Curtiss says. Photo 4 of 6 in A Modern Preschool in San Francisco by Diana Budds

A Modern Preschool in San Francisco

4 of 6

The project is the product of community involvement. Curtiss's children attended the school and she worked with the husband-and-wife team Eric and Sarah Olson for the bench/bookcase near the entrance. "Eric is getting his architecture license and he used the project for his required community service hours," she says. "We used FinPly precut into strips based on a cut pattern that Eric developed. It was a really nice way to get a hand hewn look into an otherwise off the shelf space. It also was part of the community building ethos of the space. One former parent donated his shop space for Eric to work and use his equipment."

The Manzanita tree came from the farm of a Sweet Pea teacher's parents' farm. "We wanted a tree to bring down the scale of the space to kid level around the reading area using a natural element that could get decorated with craft projects," Curtiss says.