Bergen-Enkheim Kindergarten / Bolles + Wilson

closed

The compact volume and upper-level multi-purpose room are a consequence of the limited size and a ground level change of 2,20m. The interior circulation gallery is animated by an optimistic green/yellow wall with giant foot/hand prints. A thematizing of scale is endemic to a building whose customers are only 70 centimeters tall.Text description provided by the architects.The latest BOLLES+WILSON kindergarten is now, after a protracted incubation open for its 60 mini-customers. It is beside a fire station and behind suburban villas in Frankfurt’s Bergen-Enkheim district.Sliding white sunscreens on the East and West façades also give nighttime security for open windows. The flat roof is planted for rainwater retention and for insect habitat.The ‘coat of many colors’ façade is wood, and sustainable, a signal for the building’s ‘passive house’ status. Colorful sun awnings animate the south façade where the six group rooms open to the playground or to the first-floor balcony (where stairs connect down to the playground).