Vivid Diversity for Double Day-Care Centre in Wiesendangen

Because of the slight slope and narrow lot, Singer Baenziger Architekten decided in favour of a two-storey building whose main entrance and sunny, paved front area is oriented towards the existing schoolbuildings. The back of the preschool is to the single-family dwellings, which both delimits the area and ensures the necessary spatial and acoustic distance from the residential street.  The ground floor, which pushes slightly into the slope, forms a base. This is reflected in its massive construction and choice of materials. Individual elements such as walls, doors and the stairway set a contrast to the cool exposed concrete with their bright, friendly yellow.  Behind the covered entrance there is a long multifunctional area with coatrooms that lead to secondary spaces such as the toilets, toolroom, kitchen and teachers’ lounge. The upper storey does not only rise above the schoolyard; it also stands apart from the ambient design of the ground floor in that walls and ceilings are clad with the light-coloured wood of the silver fir. The central stairway leads up to a zenithally lit corridor which takes us to the centrally located classrooms and the main rooms, which are arranged along the side. With their generous windows on three sides, these classrooms offer an extensive view and are optimally lit.  The angular floor plan means that the spaces – with help from a room divider and a curtain - can be arranged in various ways. The windows, whose exterior frames are white and flush with the building, are deep enough inside to serve as seating niches for the children. Moreover, two balconies offer direct contact with the surrounding environment. Each one features a skylight and the façade slats; both can be used as outside classrooms. The two storeys of the double day-care centre are united under a single expressive wooden façade. The characteristic appearance of the plum-coloured shell and the red covering slats dances deliberately out of step, yet the wooden materiality forms a link to the triple gym and various other wooden buildings. At this preschool in Wiesendangen, the children can experience a harmonious diversity of spatial, colour and material impressions.

more information:
project management: Roman Singer, Fabian Brockhage 
site supervision: a-m amreal 
HVAC engineer: Balzer Ingenieure
electrical engineer: Marquart Elektroplanung + Beratung
building physicist: Mühlebach Elektroplanung + Bauphysik    

start of construction: Juni 2014
finishing: August 2015
volume: 2.145 m³
building costs: 2.116.000 CH Franken 

Photographer: Christian Senti