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Architects: Atelier SNS
- Year: 2011
Text description provided by the architects. Classrooms are divided by walls shaped like the symbol for infinity "∞" to symbolize children’s infinite potential. The entangled arches represent children all over the world holding hands. The meaning of having no walls where the arches cross is to let children know that the world is without borders. There are no hallways and students access to classrooms from the center. Each classroom is color coordinated, so students easily find their classrooms.
The Kindergarten and Junior School (1st & 2nd grade) temporary building project has been built on a very limited school field. This field had to be used as part of the temporary building and school playground. Since limited space was one of the design challenges, we had to build a temporary building that is compact and efficient; therefore, we planned a circular design.
The round-shaped hanging ceiling is the air conditioning system covered by wooden louvers. The extended cantilever flat roof protects the building from the sunlight and rain. Just like the Japanese ‘Engawa’, the mid-term area helps with conserving energy and running cost. Since this will be used as a temporary building I have designed many parts of the class room to be detached and reusable. The floor consists of one room which is divided by removable walls to separate each class room. The walls are also reusable because they are used as back shelves and storage. The shelves are mounted with desks, chairs and storage. This can be transferred to the new completed building in the future.
The entangled arches create an effect that looks as though you are going through a tunnel. At one end of the tunnel, you reach the mirror wall where you can constantly reflect. At the other end of the tunnel, you see the future light or sunlight which guides you into the bright future.
