Way down near the southern tip of Sweden, a delightful new kindergarten has risen along the shoreline like a cluster of sand dunes. Indeed, though it may not exactly "disappear" into the surroundings like one mirrored-up Irish childcare center, this beachside day care, with its jagged form and an almost worn-looking timber façade, was most certainly intended to fit in with the landscape of the fishing village of Råå. Designed by Copenhagen-based firm Dorte Mandrup Architects, the 5,651-square-foot building houses children of four different age groups under the separate gables.
Connected to a larger school building via a "cave-like" corridor, the new structure features sloping timber-clad roofs that become gentler, climbable ramps on the ends. The interior is a mix of light green floors and pale timber furniture, all made even brighter by large rectangular windows on the vertical façades and triangular skylights that follow the angles of the roofs. And sure enough, there are a couple of sand pits in the playground, slotted at the rear of the building for shelter from sea breeze.
· Sand dune-inspired kindergarten completed by Dorte Mandrup beside a Swedish beach [Dezeen]
· All Parenting Handbook posts [Curbed National]