Eight Nurseries in Hanover/text

 

Location: Hanover
Competition: 1. Prize2011
Client: Carl Schumacher GmbH
Construction Time: 2012–2013
Work Phases: 1–5
Gross Floor Area: 9.200 m²

Eight Nurseries in Hanover

In cooperation with MOSAIK architects we realized eight fully accessible nurseries in a passive house standard. The buildings are situated in eight different locations within the city of Hanover, offering 745 places for the children. They each feature an individual color and material concept.

In 2010, the county capital Hannover launched a procedure for realizing the nurseries. The respective locations are marked by gardens and landscape, inspiring the designers to the central theme of “house in a garden”.  The results were two building types: the building with a stacked storey and the villa, both harmonizing with its surrounding. Large, clearly structured windows form a rhythm that defines the entire building. By individually designing each house, the nurseries respectively receive a unique appearance.

The foyer in the center of the ground floor forms the meeting and waiting point for the parents. Direct visual axis towards the dining and multi-purpose area as well as the way to the staircases, the lift and the outdoor space support the communicative meaning of this space. Within the building type “villa” an accessible glass floor visually connects the foyer to the upper floor offering a play area. At the same time, it presents the spatial focus of the second level. A wooden construction surrounds the glass square and provides a storage space for the personal possessions of the children.  A generous skylight offers an unobstructed view of the sky above thus resulting in a sunbathed and protected play area.