THE MUKOU LEIMONDO NURSERY SCHOOL | Archivision Hirotani Studio

“The House of Light” and “The Little Village” This nursery school is situated in a comparatively densely populated、 residential area of Kyoto prefecture. Due to the limited land area, it was not possible to secure the space necessary if the nursery building and the nursery playground were to be planned on the same plane. Thus, began the consideration of a “single level nursery building with a roof playground.” As a result, we were able to realize a bright and spacious nursery by using light wells on the roof and by providing lofty ceilings, and, also, to accommodate an ample, sizable garden on the nursery roof itself. Within the nursery, “houses of light” have been arranged where the children are able to feel being in their own homes. The inside of these “houses of light” differ in shape, color and direction of the light from above, making it a very special space within the nursery. The light from these openings in the ceiling changes with the time and the season, creating new play methods initiated by the children themselves as they notice such changes and tell about them to their playmates.] On the roof, the “House of Light” emerges as a three dimensional ink between the interior space on the ground floor to the roof garden. On the roof , the House of Light are like wooden houses, bringing about the image of the “Little Village” as they dot the lawn space of the roof garden.　 It is here that the children are able to become one of the village people as they run around the “houses” or take a look down into the nursery on the floor below through the roof light “windows” or take a look through a window to view the “bullet” train, each one finding a place to their liking and, in so doing, pass away their time at the nursery. The “Sky House” and the “Little Village” themselves are each a new form of play tool in the form of a space to foster observation, reception and communicative capabilities. Art director: Hirai Toru / Mars Design Workshop Furniture design: Koizumi Makoto Structural engineers: Umezawa structural engineers Mechanical engineers: Azu planning