Yasuyuki KAWANISHI + ICHIBANSEN / nextstations
​川西 康之 + 株式会社イチバンセン 一級建築士事務所 / ネクストステーションズ

This project is to design a childcare and education space to foster autonomy and creativity by enriching the limited interior. Seiwa Kindergarten, the client in Kochi City, needs to differentiate from other kindergarten owing to the competitive society of kindergarten business. On the other hand, parents request security and the space to enhance children’s sensibility. Thus, we designers considered and translated their both points of view.

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The intention of the design is that children can ‘discover a place’ and ‘create a place’ by themselves. Moreover, in order for them to feel local nature nearby, the furniture is made of local timber such as cypress and cedar from Kochi prefecture.

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Although conventional furniture for kindergarten is inexpensive and dirt-resistant because of the ready-made product of plastics, it is always the same shape and same use. In the case of the furniture we designed, the kindergarteners can arrange desks and chairs freely by themselves: circular style that they can enjoy their meal while looking at friends’ smiles, event style that they can play games such as musical chairs, lesson style that they can concentrate on the blackboard, group style which suitable for small group activity, and many others. Unlike typical rectangular furniture, it can be a tool to develop their creativity because the furniture makes it possible to change the disposition in accordance with various situations. Not just for children but also for the nursery teacher, the desk and chair are easy to carry; additionally, the desk is foldable for effective use of the limited space.

The toilet, which should be the centre of daily life of nursing for 1 or 2 years old children, tends to be located on the corner or outside of the room due to water supply and ventilation. Therefore, by locating the toilet in the centre of the room purposely, we tried to make them overcome the negative feelings for the toilet such as ‘dark’ or ‘scary’. It must be effective for leaving nappy and toilet training to create a space where children can say ‘I wanna go to the bathroom’ on their own. This toilet can be the leading part of space you have never seen before.

Finally, needless to say, safety is the most crucial factor; in order to prevent accidents in the narrow building, the stairs and rooms should not have a dead angle as much as possible. In addition, the space must be safe and variable because it could be utilized as the shelter from the tsunami disaster.