Kindergarten in Żory by Toprojekt

08/01/2019. Nominee EU Mies Award [Żory] Poland
metalocus, ANDREA GONZÁLEZ

This kindergarten located in the small town Żory, south of Polonnia, is the second project Nominated for the European Prize for Architecture Mies 2019, designed by the Polish studio Toprojekt.

Kindergarten in Żory by Toprojekt. Photograph by Wojciech Bęczarski - aerial photography

Kindergarten in Żory by Toprojekt. Photograph by Wojciech Bęczarski - aerial photography

Kindergarten in Żory by Toprojekt. Photograph by Juliusz Sokołowski

Kindergarten in Żory by Toprojekt. Photograph by Wojciech Bęczarski - aerial photography

Kindergarten in Żory by Toporjekt. Photograph by Wojciech Bęczarski - aerial photography

Kindergarten in Żory by Toprojekt. Photograph by Wojciech Bęczarski - aerial photography

Urban geometry. Kindergarten in Żory by Toprojekt.

Site plan. Kindergarten in Żory by Toprojekt.

Ground floor plan. Kindergarten in Żory by Toprojekt.

Axonometric program. Kindergarten in Żory by Toprojekt.

Axonometric. Kindergarten in Żory by Toprojekt.

Section. Kindergarten in Żory by Toprojekt.

Elevation. Kindergarten in Żory by Toprojekt.

Taking into consideration that a child is a serious and sensitive receiver that imposes the greatest demands on the designer, the project designed by Toprojekt is a very compact building, articulated around a patio, and having as main protagonist the roof of the building, as an area of game. Projekt.

Description of project by Toprojekt

Pre-school education is one of the most important stages in human development, so we should carefully care for the quality of space in which this process takes place. Children cannot be underestimated and serve only colored interiors. A child is a serious, sensitive recipient who puts the highest demands on the designer.

A five-branch kindergarten was established in the center of Kleszczówka district in the suburbs of Żory. The immediate environment is dominated by chaotic single-family buildings. A little further you can meet small clusters of four blocks. In this environment, the kindergarten is the space and new quality.

A small parcel of an irregular shape similar to a triangle intended for the construction of a pre-school segment at an existing school, imposed rather two-story solutions, although a little overwhelming, but leaving a little space for the playground. Instead, we decided to have a one-story building with rounded corners, which filled almost all of the possible surface, and for the outdoor play, we designed a large roof terrace.

To provide access to daylight to all rooms and communication spaces, we put a rectangular atrium into the center of the kindergarten, a piece of the outside world into which snow and rainfall and constantly changing sunlight. Openwork, steel stairs can get from the atrium to the roof. A streamlined, wood-covered terrace with two circular islands of green in the middle encourages children to run on more and more tracks. Outside the terrace, the roof surface is covered with ornamental grasses. It is a pity that during the construction it was not possible to keep old acacias at the border of the plot, which would partly shade the terrace. You will have to wait for a few years for new trees.

A triangle with rounded corners and irregular perforation of concrete walls. The mineral wool enabled precise warming of the vertical planks. The wall line remains fluid.

Reinforced concrete walls work with heat exchanger and heating systems. Mineral wool protects during the summer. Moisture, which could trace in the thermal insulation layer, is discharged to the outside. This slit has a different effect on overheating. Wool as a completely non-flammable material reduces the fire risk to a minimum.

Reinforced concrete walls work perfectly with a ground heat exchanger and heating and ventilation systems, constituting an excellent heat and cold compensator. Mineral wool protects the building from the loss of energy outside and its excessive acquisition during the summer.

The cladding of the vertical boards has also been covered with external walls. The walls and roof will naturally grow old, the trees grow and the grass will thicken. The functioning and aging of a building in the perspective of years is also for us - and perhaps even more - important from its appearance at the time of putting into use.