HN Nursery / HIBINOSEKKEI + Youji no Shiro

Architects: HIBINOSEKKEI, Youji no Shiro
Location: Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Toshinari Soga (studio BAUHAUS)

Floor Area: 573.0 m2
Site Area: 2651.0 m2
Construction Area: 588.0 m2

Text description provided by the architects. This is a nursery which parents found, who want to raise children in rich nature environment. To meet their expectation, by making use of rich nature surrounding it, the nursery is planned to design where children can feel nature in a whole day, and play excited and stimulating, so that they can develop their sensibility and creativity.

In inside activity of nursery, children generally play with materials whose usage is not flexible and ready-made toys. It’s lack of changes for children to play. On the other hand, in outside activity, there are many changes of season and weather. Children can feel a lot of things, such as the warmth from sunlight, the touch of soil, the smell of flower, the color of sky. For the aim that they take such a full of nature activity in a whole day and then make a discovery and think by themselves, this nursery is designed as they can feel nature whenever and wherever they are.

In a nursery room, there is a big banyan tree planted from ground, where children can enjoy climbing tree. From the roof made of glass, the sunlight comes and they can watch the floating clouds in the sky. In the playground, there is a big hill with 5-meter difference in height and there children can feel the touch of ground from infants who crawl and they can get many physical activities by rolling over and over, slipping, digging and so on. In these ways, this nursery provides children with the daily life rich in nature and chances to create many plays.