An old kindergarten has been revitalized in the town of Jablonec nad Nisou, Czechia. Thanks to Mjölk architekti’s designs, the renovated building gives children the freedom to connect with the world, have fun, and develop.
As the Mjölk architekti team emphasized, “Kindergarten is a place where young children develop their most basic relationships with the world. Unlike their home, it is a place where they are on their own for the first time outside the safety of their family, and where they make individual connections with people and the environment, often for the first time in their lives.” The team believes that kindergartens should be remarkable buildings that make children happy and whose primary function is to show that the world is an exciting place.
They believe that society and institutional requirements often overshadow this key objective, which makes the planning process of a nursery school very difficult. “One is to count the cubic meters of air exchanged in a given period of time. The next is to prove that there is constant standard lighting everywhere for every square meter. The building cannot be made of wood. Why, though? And it cannot have more than two floors. Why is that? We have no idea,” they elaborated, adding that “children, who are the most important part of the design process, are completely left out. Yet we know that they are capable of seriously engaging with architectural ideas and answering questions about what is best for them.”
That’s why the plans for the kindergarten in the town of Jablonec nad Nisou were designed to be as bold as possible. They chose unconventional solutions that put the entertainment of children first. For example, kids can run up and down between the kindergarten’s old and new sections through the bathrooms, or climb out onto a large concrete terrace through a newly built extension, which offers both safety and freedom. A playground has also been created on the building’s roof, offering panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. Furthermore, the levels within the kindergarten are connected by a slide, and the whole interior is created as one large room, divided vertically into four levels, where children can always see each other, but can also hide when they need privacy.
Photos: Boysplaynice
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