Description
‘They only think functional: slide, swing, climbing frame. That’s it’. This was the answer given by an experienced head of a kindergarten when asked about the main mistakes made by architects in kindergarten design. I believe there is room for improvement.
Children must have spaces (both inside and outside) which satisfy their needs. That may sound like a simple statement of the obvious, but it isn’t. Just what do children need? Do we know? Yes, we do to some extent. Architects are presented here with a tremendous opportunity and they should make the most of it. Space and the way it is organised may either substantially help or hinder a decent education. The internal and external spaces we create for children must offer them the chance to gain individual life experiences. This is more important now than ever before. Spaces are not merely ‘expanses of emptiness’, but may make a considerable contribution towards a child’s successful early life. As creators of space in educational facilities, architects are responsible for designing ‘space as educator’, and are therefore pedagogical companions to generations of children.
What children need
Here we mean the real needs of children, not just the things they would like, or things which please adults. A ‘need’ implies something essential without which the child suffers. According to current educational and psychological theories, the following are prerequisites for a successful life:
This relatively abstract description of a child’s needs should motivate us to ask the right questions. For example, are the children able to run, jump, romp, dance, climb and do gym in and around the building? Can they hold parties, experiment, do handicrafts, make music, build, paint, observe and reflect? Can they ‘read’, ‘count’ and ‘write’ (in their way), are they able to be alone or mix in the group, can they relax? Can they sleep?
The child develops, lives and learns in the kindergarten or educational facility, be it a crèche, a nursery school or children’s daycare centre. The institution is part of the community and must be fully integrated with it architecturally and geographically. Traffic and security, noise, fumes, topology, access and the view from the road are all relevant factors.
Leading aspects and principles
The following is neither a systematic analysis nor a treatise. It is a collection of aspects and principles derived from preschool educational theory and from a wealth of kindergarten experience and reports. Its conceptual background is the so-called ‘life-related’ pedagogical approach to kindergarten education in its broad and basic form, here applied to the use of space from the architectural perspective. In accordance with this approach children should learn as much as possible through movement and original experience rather than through ‘instruction’ as in a poorly performing school. Naturally, this approach recommends that all architectural decisions (type of materials, energy consumption, etc.) be taken on the basis of ecological compatibility in the interests of a happy life and future for our children. Why are so many children’s facilities currently being redesigned, both inside and outside? Certainly not because they were properly planned, built and designed in the first place.
Become a child.– Ideally, to empathise fully with a child’s needs, the architect should put himself in the child’s place and experience a typical day in the life of a child through a child’s eyes. His own imagination can help him but it is better to spend a whole day, or perhaps several, in a child’s institution observing their movements and behaviour, their size, their speed and length of step, and discovering at first hand their need for activity, security, calm (perhaps in a room for quiet reflection or sleeping) and learning. One might then, for example, subdivide large areas with glass, make ceilings appear lower, avoid folding doors which adversely affect the acoustics of a room, and remove technical rooms from basements where regularly used objects and play equipment are stored. The architect must feel, smell and above all listen to the kindergarten and get to know what teachers have to do. This empathetic immersion is indispensable.
Enrichment through cooperation. – No one person – not even the best architect – can build a ‘complete’ kindergarten, i.e. one which offers children an educational experience of the highest quality. The architect might design a beautiful edifice, but a modern children’s daycare facility is far more than an aesthetically pleasing building. It is a place in which to learn and to live. Its design therefore requires the participation of those who will later be responsible for successful life and learning within the institution, namely the teachers. The entire teaching staff, but especially the management and a few particularly committed colleagues, must be involved in the planning at an early stage. An often successful strategy is for the architect to gather an advisory group around him, comprising governors and experienced parents, but particularly teachers who will live and work in the building for up to 12 hours a day. The architect gains a great deal from such collaboration. His own visions are supplemented and enriched by those of others. Through their professionalism, teachers can contribute a wealth of ideas and experiences which the architect does not possess. No-one should fear loss of control, for all are working in partnership to reach the most practical decisions in educational terms. In one case, a large extention to a kindergarten would have meant the destruction of all the established trees in the grounds. Thanks to an excellent working relationship between the head teacher, the site manager and the architect, the building went ahead, but the trees were saved.
The partial-holistic approach. – The process of seeing the part (Latin pars) in relation to the whole (Greek holon) is often intuitive. However, it must be a conscious architectural exercise when designing a kindergarten in order to meet the spatial needs of the individual child as well as those of the whole group. For example, an additional room might be provided, linked to the main group room which is, in turn, linked to the rest of the kindergarten. The arrangement of group rooms should relate to the whole building, which in turn relates to the grounds and surrounding area. This partial-holistic approach ensures that we don’t overlook certain aspects and ignore their context.
Central underlying questions of designing kindergartens are: for whom and for what purpose? The building designed by the architect and erected under his supervision, including the layout of outside areas, will be a living and learning environment for children and adults. This raises central questions as to the purpose of the building and who will use it. In this case we are concerned with children aged between 0 and 14 years living with their careers in a community. They are children in crèches, nurseries, kindergartens, after-school and daycare centres (probably open from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m., and equipped with everything children need for such a long day in terms of furnishings and space). Several important questions therefore arise with respect to spatial organisation. For example, are there any children with disabilities and, if so, which? How many are in a group? Are these socially disadvantaged children? Is the institution situated in a social problem area? Are there frequent break-ins? Will beautiful, well cultivated grounds be often disturbed? Will the educational establishment share its premises with other institutions like a centre for the elderly? Many kindergartens, particularly denominational establishments, have a community hall in the basement. Could and should this be used by the kindergarten as a gymnasium? Is there a youth club nearby – perhaps even in part of the same building – which might be noisy and disruptive? From an architectural point of view, the partial-holistic approach described above has a particular relevance: by viewing the whole we can promote the parts which are useful and reject those which are not.
In this respect the question as to the profile and didactic approach of the establishment is also significant: is it a Waldorf school, does it follow a life-related approach to learning? Is it a children’s daycare centre with a bias towards arts and crafts? Is it a kindergarten run by a gym club with an emphasis on physical exercise? Discussion with educational experts will ascertain whether and to what extent the profile of the institution should determine the type and structure of the building.
Guidelines and Standards – ignore them as much as possible. – It may sound absurd to tell someone they ought to be familiar with the guidelines but not comply with them – especially in the construction industry! What is the point of that? Of course, everyone knows that there are guidelines, regulations and standards for the construction and operation of children’s establishments in Germany (usually specific to each German federal state). They should be procured and studied in detail. However, they should also be ‘properly’ and ‘thoroughly’ understood. One shouldn’t make the mistake of assuming that minimum dimensions are necessarily the optimum dimensions in all cases. If a minimum of 2 sqaure metres is prescribed for each child in a group room and the group comprises 25 children, the result might be a group room measuring 50 square metres which, for this number of children, would be neither desirable nor conducive. Therefore, such standards, whether for internal rooms or external areas, should be taken at face value and adapted to best suit the situation. In this respect, architects and teachers should advocate the interests of the children and convince the clients of the best possible solution.
Versatility and flexibility. – The rooms in a kindergarten should be structured in such a way that, as well as serving their main purpose (group room, additional room for quiet activities, staffroom, gym, washrooms and toilets etc.) they can also be used for other activities. Narrow hallways are impractical, for example, because, although they provide access to the group rooms, they are too cramped to accommodate an assembly of all the children. (I’m not recommending a large, broad hallway as a gym to economise on a dedicated ‘eurythmic room’). In principle, rooms should not be too specialised but should also be suitable for other purposes (a washroom, for example, could also be an area where children might play with water). This applies to the whole building. If necessary, a kindergarten should also be able to function as an elementary school (for children between the ages of 6 and 14). At all events they would then need homework rooms. When designing a kindergarten, therefore, it is essential to include additional rooms.
Interconnection and openness. – All kindergarten units, such as main and additional group rooms, access from all group rooms to the external grounds, a large foyer or entrance hall and other rooms (office, staffroom, parents’ interview room) and units in the external grounds should be built as clearly differentiated units in which the children and other users may also feel ‘apart’. However, they should interconnect with adjacent units rather than being shut off from them. Users of the building (children, teachers and parents) should feel separate but not enclosed. This can be achieved by using glass, interconnecting pathways and bridges linked to the outside. Children can therefore see more and are futher stimulated.
Which spaces are needed?
The following interior rooms are absolutely necessary: 1 room for each group (as big as possible, but in any case larger than the minimum standard and possibly with a second level or gallery to provide a refuge for the children) – and certainly one separate additional room belonging to the group, preferably linked with the group room; 1 large assembly hall to accommodate all the children (possibly also serving as a spacious, bright hallway); ideally 1 room per group for resting and sleeping, particularly in full-day kindergartens attended by young children; 1 room for PE, gymnastics, eurythmics etc. (shared by all groups); 1 washroom for each group (consider its position as well as its size, water connection and facilities for keeping it clean) and separate toilets (as per regulations) for each group; a kitchen suitable for the children to use (consider whether there needs to be a fully fitted kitchen for each group; many kindergartens do have this); room for special activities such as language training and development, internet and PC; an administrative office (if possible with a view of the entrance, playgrounds and interior); 1 staffroom for relaxation, discussions, consultations, work preparation and marking; toilets for adults (if possible, separate toilets for staff and other adults).–Outside: storage and maintenance area for the children’s equipment (scooters, bicycles, etc.). All rooms and facilities (inside and outside) are to be designed and equipped to modern standards and with a view to adequate visibility (lighting; daylight whenever possible), and audibility (acoustics; effective noise insulation on ceilings and walls and suitable floor covering, e.g. cork). All the children’s senses are to be addressed with respect to the materials used and spatial structures, i.e. smell and taste, touch and orientation. (In some older establishments even adults almost need a compass to avoid getting lost. How on earth do the children manage?)
It is often forgotten during the planning stage that an educational establishment needs plenty of room to present the children’s ‘artwork’ and spaces for the use of parents and public (notice boards, cork walls, display windows and showcases, advertisement pillars, etc.).
The grounds
The external grounds are sometimes described as open areas, gardens or playgrounds. What is actually meant is the land on which the building stands and which is as essential to the children, if not more so, than internal spaces. (Landscape) Architects have a considerable say in how they are designed and thus may considerably help or hinder a satisfactory learning experience. They should think along pedagogical lines and plan according to the life-related approach. Above all, this means that the grounds should encourage children to gain first hand experiences (not second hand or mediated) and should ideally include:
As you can see there are plenty of options and all have something to do with space and architecture. A kindergarten should be designed to encourage the development of a child’s cognitive, social, emotional and motor skills. Particularly as childhood is often repressed in many sections of society today, children should be given the chance to mess about and play: e.g. to hammer, saw, build, experiment, splash around, play with fire, climb, run, tussle, hide, slide, dig etc.
Today’s architects can do more than simply refrain from hindering these experiences. They have the opportunity to positively encourage and foster such activities and thereby make a substantial contribution towards a happy childhood.
Originally published in: Mark Dudek, Schools and Kindergartens: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2015.