Frederiksvej Kindergarten
Client:
City of Frederiksberg
Size:
1,700 m2
Program:
Day-care center for 182 children, age 0-6
Collaborators:
Preben Skaarup Landskab, Søren Jensen, Learning Spaces, Brdr. Thybo, Caverion, Juul & Nielsen
Awards:
ArchDaily Building of the Year Award 2017
At its core, a kindergarten is about creating a safe, playful and inspiring setting for kids to grow up in. The starting point for Frederiksvej Kindergarten was to create a building from the eye level of a child. The design is based on a concept that kids are very fond of: The playhouse. As a series of small houses within a bigger house, the interior of the kindergarten is composed of several small and different worlds that vary in size and function. A house within a house becomes a recurring motif, both indoors and out. The aim is to create a building that is comprehensible in the eyes of a child and to draw inspiration from the simplicity and purity of a child’s drawing. The result is a scaled-down environment consisting of many different worlds, but also a place where kids can feel a sense of belonging to one specific house within the cluster of houses.
How to make large seem small? Frederiksvej Kindergarten is both a functional, efficient institution for 182 kids and a village with room to play, where everyone can find a safe and homey place.
Named after its location, the building is made up of 11 small house-shaped blocks, organised around two winter gardens. Each of these volumes feature a simple peaked roof and frameless windows.
Like a matryoshka doll of small houses, the interior of the kindergarten is composed of several small and different worlds for the kids. Beds, toilets and play niches are all designed as pitched-roof houses.