Montessori Kindergarten

Skin on hot cocoa in a tempered glass cup. Light filtering through the blinds into the room where I pretend to be asleep; the scent of fresh sheets on tiny beds. A narrow, dark hallway leading out to the garden. Dining tables draped in plastic tablecloths patterned with pink flowers, old linoleum underfoot in the canteen…

Location:

Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic

Client:

City of Jablonec nad Nisou

Status:

Completed

Year of completion:

2020

Built-up area:

238 m²

Budget:

50 million CZK

Architects:

Jan Mach, Pavlína Mülerová, Jan Vondrák

Design engineer:

Mjölking s.r.o.

Collaborators:

Projektový atelier DAVID, s.r.o.

General Contractor:

Termill s.r.o.

Interior Contractor:

CNC studio s.r.o.

Photography:

BoysPlayNice

Kindergartens are spaces where a young child forms their very first fundamental relationships with the world. Unlike home, it is the first place where one steps outside the protective cocoon of the family and builds independent connections with people and their surroundings—often for the first time in life. We believe kindergartens should be extraordinary buildings whose primary purpose is to give children the feeling that the world is a wonderful and exciting place to live in.

When you start designing a kindergarten as an architect, you quickly discover that society and institutions have wrapped these buildings in an utterly impenetrable web of absurd regulations, prohibitions, and mandates. You set out to create a place with a clear purpose—to bring joy to children as they explore the world—and instead, you end up solving a complex mathematical equation. You calculate cubic meters of air exchanges over set time intervals. You prove that every single square meter receives uniform, standardized light. The building can’t be made of wood. Like, why? And it can’t exceed two stories. Why? Nobody really knows. The children, who matter most in the design process, are completely left out. Yet we know they are fully capable of engaging with architectural ideas seriously and giving thoughtful answers about what would suit them best.