A Folded Mat - Kindergarten MB

The site for the kindergarten presented considerable challenges: a cramped plot surrounded by heavy traffic, overshadowed by a massive nine-storey block on the south side. Given this context, the building was conceived of as a compact single-story ‘mat’ building that folds up towards the sun. Internally the local suburban pattern is echoed in the repetitive small-scale structure of units and patios – a series of solids and voids bent into vertical planes: gardens become terraces and the corridor is transformed into a staircase leading to the rooftop garden.

This sequence of spaces is linked together by the ‘children’s’ street’ whose meandering transparent character, intermediate spaces, and colour coding provides an urban experience for the children. The typological innovation of mixing together the children’s’ areas with those of the staff produces a unique didactic relationship as the children walk down the street observing the grownups at work, much like an everyday situation in the city.