A proposal to architectural design competition for Otsuka Nursery in Gamagori, Japan. The scheme remained as one of 5 finalists.
The new nursery school is to combine the function of two existing kindergartens and hold up to 110 children between 0 to 5 year-olds. Inspired by abundant natural and cultural context of the site, where people with diverse nationalities live together surrounded by mountains and ocean, we came up with a school rooted in the community: roof echoing mountain ranges, rooms scattered like houses on foothills, gardens surrounded by rooms like local bay; all together composing a place reinterpreting the scenery of Gamagori.
Each ‘house (room)’ is arranged according to the surrounding environment then organically connected to other spaces under the ‘roof’ as a whole, which moves in curves to create ‘bay (garden).’ These ‘bay’ areas provide several different types of outdoor spaces depending on its position and size, such as a communal square for events, natural forest with a small hill for 3-5 year-olds and a quiet and relaxed garden for 0 year-olds.
The ‘roof’ is composed of 9 parts, each formed out of rafters extending out from ‘house,’ and the protruding outer edge either serves as eaves or meets the other roof at the ridge to cover interior area. The ridge performs as a guide for the children, directing towards each ‘house’ and intertwining playing areas in various sizes throughout the building, like a thoroughfare. This cohesive structural system resembles historical background of Gamagori which is formed by assembling small counties around.
We aimed to create a nursery school like a small town of children that softly resonates with the natural landscape and streets of Gamagori, allowing the children to thrive and enjoy their time.
Location：Gamagori, Aichi, Japan ／Program：Nursery／Site area：4583m2／Building area：1800m2／Total floor area：1200m2／Structure・Scale：Wood, 2F
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