New Nursery School in Papagos

architecture | culture and education

Creating a nursery on a small plot of land within a dense urban fabric is certainly not an easy task, due to the space and security requirements. Our main intention was to create a bioclimatic station that would be characterized by introversion and safety, but at the same time it would be able to welcome the society when required.

Applying the necessary distances from the boundaries, we follow the geometry of the plot to create a cubic volume, which can be described as a carved block of marble. In the center of this volume, an internal atrium is created, an element that is the core of the design, as it allows visual control and surveillance, thus contributing to the safety of the nursery’s users. At the same time it gives the character of introversion we are looking for, since it is a protected inner playground. On the other hand, communicating directly with the entrance area and the multi-purpose room, it can be a reception and hospitality area for parents for events, but also for the society of the Municipality of Papagos – Cholargos. The spaces reserved for infants and toddlers occupy the rest of the spaces around the atrium. For reasons of better functioning of the school, toddlers are placed on the ground floor and infants on the first floor.

Each space has been placed in an orientation that matches the function it performs, and therefore has a different view of the surrounding urban landscape and neighborhood, making it unique. The vertical communications are combined with playful elements, while the overall shape of the stations gives a strong sense of identity, separating its special use from the rest of the buildings in the area.

The location of the station, in a point easily accessible both by the residents of the surrounding residential blocks and by the entire area, helps to highlight it as a point of interest and a landmark of the Municipality. Combined with the Cultural Center located on the adjacent plot and the nearby park, it can be the heart of the neighborhood, a place for education, meeting and recreation.