Spatial Connections: Childcare Centre in Sierre

Since the opening of the Crèche de l’Europe in Sierre, the town centre has acquired fresh attraction as a place for families to live. More than 600 children between the ages of three months and twelve years are looked after at the crèche. Important aspects for parents are the scope to choose the times when they can use this facility and a pedagogic concept that aims to allow children a maximum degree of independence. This user-friendly offer, which seems so self-evident, is the outcome of a close collaboration between the architects and the educational adminis-tration. This is reflected in the systematic architectural approach and the bespoke spatial programme.
Architects: Giorla & Trautmann Architectes, Sierre
Location: Av. Max Huber 5, CH–3960 Sierre

In 2004, Sierre in the Valais held a competition for an urban reorganization of the town centre, which also foresaw a new day-care complex. Roughly 620 children between the ages of three months and 12 years are registered there, whereby a maximum of 200 are present on any one day.

On the ground floor is the kindergarten, together with the admin­istration and refectory. On the first floor are the crèche and the care facilities for schoolchildren and preschool infants. Larger spatial units are housed on the second floor: a gym and a multipurpose space, which is also used as a canteen.

The deep building volume is daylighted internally via two patios, and at the heart of the structure is a full-height atrium in which three cubes have been inserted, containing a children’s kitchen, a theatre or reading room and a workshop. Circulation areas flow around the cubes like the streets and spaces of a small town. A further important element of the pedagogic concept are the outdoor areas: gardens for the kindergarten, a covered terrace for the crèche, and the roof terrace for the schoolchildren.

A detailed documentation of the project in print can be found in DETAIL 3/2013 on Building for Children.

Client: City of Sierre

Completion: 2008
Gross construction costs: 9,9 Mio. CHF

Site area: 3300 m²
Building footprint: 1300 m² 
Gross floor area: 2482 m² 
Garden area: 440 m² 

No.of groups: 9 (3 Créche + 5 Kindergarten + 1 After School Care)
Opening hours: 6.45 - 18.45 
Weitere Informationen
www.giorla-trautmann.ch