☉ Amsterdam children's playschool is an honour mention proposal by M.E.G. for Archmedium in 2016. It is located in Amsterdam Netherlands in a seaside setting. Its scale is medium. Key material is wood. Concepts such as grid and vault are explored. Review the 19 proposals for the same competition.
The pier of Stenen Hoofd is recognized as a landmark and an identity symbol for Amsterdam citizens. For this reasons, our entry proposes the installation of a bare structure that aims to trigger a process of negotiation and commoning between architecture and its users. The floorplan is based on a cross shape element, half way between a column and a wall: on these wooden components it is based not only the static of the building but also the space itself. Playing with the ambiguity of the latin idea of spatium (as eld where items are distributed to a certain distance) and the germanic meaning of Raum as a void, the project explores the border between making space and leaving space: the rooms are organized on a modular grid whose limits are signed by the crosses, while the infilling materials are lighter and effortlessly changable.
The classrooms are arranged along a lter corridor, like the Japanese engawa or the Greek stoa: while the B and C typologies access the patios through this lter, transforming it in a semi-private space in a uid continuity with the distribution system, the ones of the A typology are accessible only from their classrooms, giving more privacy to the served spaces and leaving a clear outline of the central engawa. The cultural acivities are slightly detouched from the kindergarden but still connected throughout a covered passage. Thanks to the clarity of this strong spatial regulation, the project aims to activate new scenarios of grow, and is suitable, when needed, to change according to the citizens’ initiatives.