Kindergarten

TIMELINE: 12 Weeks

MEDIUMS USED: Bristol Paper, Rhino 3D, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop

CONSTRAINTS: COVID-19 restrictions, must be placed in site with two other kindergartens, must change landscape to fit three kindergartens, a garden, a play area, and additional vegetation

ABOUT THE DESIGN PROCESS:

This project was divided in two 6 week projects, the first being the design of the kindergarten and the second being the design of the site with a team. Beginning individually, I wanted to create a compact kindergarten. Our site did not allow for a big building, however I was primarily motivated by the energy expenditure. I wanted the building to feel elastic, and reflect the environmentally friendly teachings the kids were taught inside of it. Beginning with the mat space, the kids store them inside movable shelving, only taking them out to sleep on. The intention behind this decision was to teach the kids about the process cleaning up and resetting the space, as the floor itself doubles as playing or learning space if the mats are put away. The second and third floor also feature moving shelving, which act as flexible separators between classrooms, creating any configuration that either the kids or the teachers come up with. I remember my brother's kindergarten having very low walls and open spaces, allowing the teachers to see almost everywhere while giving the kids some sense of privacy and comfort. By creating movable shelving, the kids can develop their spatial skills, as well as have a larger area to play or learn in. The school's green spaces are given high importance, having a section of the SW corner cut off and constructed of glass, it may appear to young impressionable kids that the school itself had to make room for a plant, even though it is on the outside. The area close to it also features abstract couches that kids can play with however they see fit, further blending the inside outside relationship. The school also features a balcony overlooking the central area. The balcony is a green space, designed to give kids a feeling that nature is all around them and potentially encoding respect for it within them. Finally, the school's roof utilizes solar panels to both decrease variable costs, and teach kids about the presence of renewable energy (My middle school installed solar panels and many of us kids were extremely fascinated with them and kept asking teachers to tell us more about how they worked). 

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Weeks 7-12 were spent working together as a team to both build the 3D model of the site, and design our site to fit our motifs. Luckily, the other two team members and I agreed on developing our individual design around sustainability and forward thinking. As a result, our visions were aligned when it came time to decide what we wanted to prioritize. We decided our kindergartens should be on the highest point of the site, and our shared playing area should be central and sunken in. We also agreed that we should have a garden area to further immerse kids in nature. Our site was largely composed of grass and trees, which we did not want to disturb much, besides having to raise the terrain to have the kindergartens be on flat ground with one another. Furthermore, we decided to work with hexagons for all of our shared spaces, including the garden space, the main entrance/play area, and the side entrance, which connects the closest street to the schools with hexagonal planter boxes, benches, or grassy areas.