Mountainside kindergarten offers playful paradise in Italy

Ah, it’s the great paradox of kindergarten design: How do you create a space that lets the kiddos roam free but in a safe and secure manner? For a new school completed in the northern Italy by Austrian firm Feld72, the answer lies in responding smartly to the site, a hilly plot surrounded by public roads, municipal buildings, and idyllic mountain views.

Architecturally, it’s not the most statement-making kindergarten design we’ve seen, but the sweeping gestures here are well thought out. With a long wall that follows the sloped site, the building creates at once a boundary at the street level while enclosing a big sunken playground. Here, grassy lawns and covered wooden terraces offer both open and more intimate spaces. A similar play on the open and closed is found inside, where pared-back rooms focus on big views of the surroundings, while bright window recesses become cozy nooks.

Via: Designboom