This a unique sustainable and digital school in the Netherlands.
Two existing schools in two neighbouring locations in Maastricht are merging into a new school on a new location in that city. This particular location was chosen to strengthen the weak social structure of the two neighbourhoods and to introduce a new digital education system to learn also more about the environment, nature and sustainability. Even the playground outside has different zones to help children (re)discover nature and explore their world by means of experiments or to build and test objects.
The school is located on square land in the perimeter of the town in an area of potential development. The building stands alone in a isolated area, limited by an avenue, that is buried beneath the school and fields.
The building design is a comb framework facing onto the future plaza, (for school weekly access and weekend public use) and inside you will find the administration office, kitchen, dining room and gym. The two perpendicular wings are on one and two floors respectively, where the classrooms are located for kindergarten and primary.
The task is to supplement the municipal kindergarten in Vallendar by 450 square meters with two groups and adjoining rooms. The cultivation is to be erected on a narrow area next to the old building.
The project for the kindergarten has been assigned with the 1st prize on the architectural competition commissioned by the municipality of Brežice in cooperation with The Chamber of Architecture and The Spatial Planning of Slovenia in 2011.
The new kindergarten building is subordinated to the green exterior space and skillfully designed in a form of a continuous spatial loop which surrounds the entire playground. Uniform concept of the playground that starts with an extensive central atrium on the south of the plot and continues under the tract on the 1st floor to the north part of the building site, assures the feeling of safety and connectivity of the kindergarten’s departments.
Courtyard, in Chinese architecture, is not only a tradition of physical space, but also a core of emotion and communication. It helps people to keep cohesion of the family and strengthen the contacts with friends and relatives, and to connect nature and universe in a touchable way. Yet this heritage is today already an impossible dream for most of urban citizens.
Design concept of Tetris Nursery was to creat diverse events of learning experiences.
As for the programs of learning diverse experiences for kids, we tried to introduce various spatial events which are continued by strolling all around the places in this kindergarten.
This project consists in the extension and rehabilitation of a nursery for 24 children. The nursery is located on a very tight and narrow site, almost hidden by several very different looking buildings.
The extension of the nursery is an opportunity to give new coherence to the group of buildings. It is set against an existing building at the end of the courtyard, and is given a distinct visual identity as a clear, readable volume. A light exterior perforated shell protects the glass building which houses the nursery spaces and play terraces on the first level.
The building is arranged in ground floor favouring the ecological value of the plot, minimizing the impact of the construction and complying with accessibility criteria. Bearing in mind the characteristics of the urban environment -with great open spaces and towers of big height-, it is projected a building that tries to create its own scale and to protect itself.
New TimeShare Kindergarten is located in the central area of small Slovenian village settlement Podgorje. The building is an extension of an existing school and hosts four playrooms and a classroom for first graders. The kindergarten’s special feature is its open plan approach with unified play space, which covers as much as 86% of the entire kindergarten and can be closed off if necessary. Children can move inside the kindergarten without restrictions, according to the so-called timeshare principle. Movement is even encouraged by a series of elements like sliding doors between playrooms, accordion doors of the central common room, and the road meandering between playrooms, which visually connects different spaces and invites children to follow it (walk, run, ride their kick scooter or bike). Even special road signs have been designed, encouraging children to mimic movements of a particular animal (butterfly, crab, lizard, etc.), and go either fast (cheetah) or slow (snail).
The team brought the Early Childhood Education department’s mission to life. Children play and laugh in front of a fantasy-inspired decor where the imaginary meets the natural world. Educators are depicted in the form of large watermark silhouettes that nurture the children and help them develop. Large circles dot the corridors; a nod to the importance of movement and relationships within the department. The circles represent the close connection and communication between educator and child and between child and educator.
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