IZY Kindergarten and Nursery

IZY Kindergarten and Nursery opened in Aichi, Japan. This is a project that transforms a nursery located next to a temple in 1945 into a new one in 2020. The building and the temple are connected through a courtyard. The environment in which visitors are naturally encountered, the wood tone used throughout the design, and the yard without large play facilities were different from the normal kindergarten designs. We listened to project director Hibino Taku about the details of the project.

Interview Taku Hibino(principal, HIBINOSEKKEI) X​ Park Jiyoun​

Park Jiyoun (Park): IZY Kindergarten and Nursery (2020) has a site directly adjacent to the temple. I am curious about the background of being located on the site. 

Hibino Taku (Hibino): Around 1945, this nursery began when the main hall of Renkei-ji Templewas opened to the public as a nursery school during the farming season.

The fence was set up to prevent children from going out of the nursery. In this new building, the garden is also put on the opposite side of the nursery so that children can play freely there and can play inside the temple precincts with teachers. The temple is the place that local people visit frequently. I thought that by creating an opportunity for to interact, new relationships would be created in the temple and the nursery school.

Park: I think you were concerned about safety issues such as child crimes, but how did you come to make this decision?

Hibino: When playing in the precincts of the temple, children are watched over by the teachers and the people who visit the temple. We think that the excessive security makes the relationship between children and the community blocked and makes the perspective of children narrow. Thus the environment was designed, where children can communicate with others across age and generation boundaries in daily life.

Hibino: The area of ​​the garden on the opposite side of the nursery and the garden inside of the temple precincts is almost same as the previous building. In the former nursery, it was one large garden, but in this new nursery, it was divided into two gardens, which expanded the range of children’s activities.

Park: Although it is a building for children, most of the buildings, including this one, have a Wood tone inside.

Hibino: This town used to flourish as a carpenter's town, and there are many shrines and temples built by them.​ The building is designed to be fitted to the local landscape. Plus, it’s children that gives colors to the building. 

Park: The project features both Kindergarten (aged 3-6) and Nursery (aged 6-3) respectively.

Park: OB kindergarten (2015) focused on the problem of low activity and obesity among children. I am curious about the characteristics of Aichi children and the spatial characteristics reflected in this project. 

Hibino: First, Decrease the number of siblings due to the declining birthrate. Second, Life in a limited number of people involved in the nuclear family. Third, Decrease in direct conversation in the internet society. Forth, The relationship between children and the community is cut off due to excessive security, the number of children who have less communication skills is increasing due to decreasing opportunities to play and talk with people across the age and generation.

The environment was designed for people to be able to communicate in daily life across age and generation. The fence between the temple and the nursery was removed to create an environment where children can play outside, including in the temple area. The porch was set up to create a nursery open to the temple so that people who visit the temple can feel close to the nursery. A playground is created in the common area to allow children of different ages to interact with each other.

By creating the connection between people in the temple and the nursery, children become interested in having communication with others and the local culture and then children’s sensitivity is being nurtured. At the same time, these opportunities make children’s interests in the society and the community expanded and their curiosity stimulated. With more opportunities to play with older children, older children take care of younger children, younger children long for older children and try to challenge, and children started to help each other.

Park: HIBINOSEKKEI+Youji no Shiro is a 50-year-old architectural company that has been working on projects targeting about 540 children. Given many years of experience, it seems to have something to focus on when working on projects for children, which is unique to HIBINOSEKKEI+Youji no Shiro. 

Hibino: The more I've been involved in children's facilities and research, the more I realize that adults shouldn't design too much in educational facilities. Many adults design educational facilities such as kindergartens and nursery schools like amusement parks. But that's a big mistake, and educational facilities aren't amusement parks. I think that it is a unique point that we can design to raise children in understanding the difference, which is different from other architectural design offices.  

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