Concept
The design for the realization competition of the day care center Gundelfingen combines modern building, climate neutrality as well as sustainability with educational principles. It is characterised by the use of renewable raw materials and focuses on healthy living and building. We want to make a contribution to the topic of sustainability, especially with a view to future generations, and at the same time convey these principles to children in a playful way.
Location
The design blends discreetly into the existing buildings due to its two-storey design towards the street and ascends to the interior of the property in harmony with the hillside location.
Short-term parking spaces are available in front of the building. On the northern side of the site there are employee parking spaces and bicycle parking spaces, which at the same time shield the garden and play area from the street.
Floor plan
An open, clear floor plan and a short route between the units are essential components of the concept. The room is characterised by light and visual references across all floors.
In the immediate vicinity of the main entrance there is a forecourt with seating as well as short stops for bicycles.
The building itself is accessed through the main entrance from Reinhold-Schneider-Strasse via the forecourt.
Arriving on the ground floor, one enters the spacious entrance hall, which acts as a distributor for the differentiated group areas. These are divided into:
A northern wing "Organizational Part" with parking spaces for prams, as well as rooms for the day care centre management and toilets.
A southern wing with two crib groups. These can be accessed internally via the play corridor along the cloakrooms and also via direct access from outside.
A western wing, which houses the general rooms such as multi-purpose rooms, storage, dining room and kitchen.
On the 1st floor there is the kindergarten area with further group rooms, a spacious bedroom as well as meeting, inclusion and several intensive rooms. There is also the possibility of access via the roof garden to the outdoor playground.
The "garden floor" offers generous premises for the two hoard groups, the personnel area as well as the technology and adjoining rooms.
This floor also offers direct access via the central staircase to the outdoor area, the northern play area and the covered play area.
Access for members of the musical society is via the employees' car park through the side entrance. This includes cloakrooms and direct access to the multi-purpose room, the musical society storage place and the guest toilets.
Playing area / outdoor area
The stringency of the building continues in the outside facilities. In order to create the given terrain condition with generous movement areas, the terrain is modselled by slope terraces. Clear zoning through movement and play bands create areas for the individual types of use. The play ribbons create differentiated climbing and movement areas. The Bobbycar track forms a spacious driveway which is combined with the roofed garden level. As part of the concept, the planting of native tree species is preferred. Apple, cherry and pear trees as well as flower strips in the north for nature observation should promote the children's desire to play and discover. The near-natural planting offers hiding, crawling in and role-playing. It also serves the children as a handicraft and learning workshop. In order to give the children an understanding of the physical properties, there is a water-mud area. The slope slide and ramp allow the use of the terrain at different height levels. The roof terrace is a place of learning with everyday things, with raised beds for fruit and vegetables and seating. Here the children research and learn about gardening and the handling of food. The cosy fireplace in direct proximity to the tree house provides occupation for children of all age groups. The open meadow is ideal for racing, kicking and other activities.
Climate neutrality
In the interests of sustainability, the use of wood as a renewable raw material is preferred, as are paints, varnishes and glazes that are largely low-polluting and environmentally friendly.
The use of a ventilation system with heat recovery is also recommended. This ensures efficient room air exchange and high air quality in all rooms, which is particularly advantageous for a day care centre.
To heat the rooms, a geothermal heat pump with optional passive cooling function is proposed, the consumption current of which can be obtained from a photovoltaic system.
Facade design
A board and batten cladding made of pre-weathered southern German silver fir underlines the sustainability concept and integrates the design harmoniously into the green area.
A playful omission of part of the formwork in the sleeping, rest and multi-purpose rooms as well as the pram parking spaces near the entrance hall is intended to provide effective privacy and privacy. This also guarantees optimum lighting conditions and adequate ventilation.
The bars in the balustrade area of the upper floor to the play area are designed in the same way, which enables additional visual relationships and benefits the lightness of the building.
