Kindergarten
The kindergarten is part of the overall reorganisation of the Traversee area or ‘AP-EP3 schools compartment’. In this compartment, the construction of various public school and sports facilities is planned in stages, the first of which is the construction of the Kindergarten. The School according to the building parameters is to be located above the existing Civil Defence Shelter. Functional spaces such as the kitchen, storerooms, technical rooms and service accesses are to be located at the level of the shelter so as to be connected to it at altitude. The planning project planned for the Traversee area is characterised by the presence of an infrastructural wall that involves and redefines the relationships between the individual elements in the context.
The wall becomes an object of interpretation for the project, characterising the pedestrian walkway as a pedestal. The Kindergarten is primarily conceived as an infrastructural element that becomes an integral part of and concludes the elevated podium walkway. The building rests on the podium with the same expression by juxtaposing two new horizontal lines of the two floors of the School. These three parts have the same abstract language drawing three horizontal lines. From earth to sky the three lines gradually taper off. The identity of the intervention is created by this indissoluble tripartition, whose public vocation is on the podium. The building is a compact volume, organised on three floors. A pedestrian ramp planned according to the planning project connects the floor of the future sports fields to the pedestrian walkway planned for the entrance to the School. The east and west fronts of the School are glazed, expressing horizontal linearity and reinforcing the transparent transverse connection between the park area and the sports field area. The north and south fronts, on the other hand, are blind and define the head and end of the architectural body. Outside is the enclosed garden area of the Kindergarten. The natural terrain and spaces currently dedicated to the public park and grove have remained unchanged.
The design is conceived on several levels, from the territorial scale to the scale of the child. The four sections are characterised by a rhythm of solids and voids. The structure and the connecting vertical volumes define the four spaces of the Kindergarten sections. The four entrances welcome the children into the atrium. From this space it is possible to ascend to the upper floor or to reach the movement space. From the classrooms for movement activities one can access the covered paved area outside and then reach the green garden. Inside the enclosed garden reserved for the school are storage rooms for games and equipment for outdoor activities. From the movement room it is possible to access the stairwell and reach the upper floor. The stairs are distributed between each pair of sections, optimising circulation spaces and eliminating corridors. On the upper floor are the four classrooms for quiet activities, refectory spaces, hygiene care rooms and storage rooms. The kitchen, related spaces and technical rooms are organised on the ground floor at the level of the sports fields and are directly connected to the upper floors by a lift. The kitchen operators are guaranteed the unloading and loading of goods by suppliers thanks to the service road.
The Kindergarten meets the Minergie energy standard and is equipped with an efficient opaque envelope combined with low-emissivity triple-glazed windows. Automated mobile external shading is provided for each façade depending on radiation. Heat for heating is produced by an air-water heat pump, and heat emission is via underfloor coils. The room temperature is regulated in each room, while the air exchange is ensured by mechanical ventilation; in addition, photovoltaic panels are arranged on the roof.
