Nestled between a shopping
mall and a cemetery, there is an old villa sunken deep in an ancient garden.
The crèche is placed in the depths of this public garden, as if retaining wall
to the road above. Functioning as both a building and a scenography, the
project orders and orientates the gaze toward carefully framed viewpoints. The implantation of the building and its surroundings
create a physical junction for the town, serving as a public passageway
coupling the levels between
the upper and lower roads. For economic reasons we limited the excavation by placing
the car park on the rooftop, re-employing the earth for the new public space. Two floor-plates housing the programmatic elements
cantilever 3 metres over the facade, protecting the playgrounds from the sun.
These horizontal strata are set against a sequence of vertical blocks that form
a structural framework and are used to contain the utility elements of the
nursery. The generous spans between these 'servant' blocks are destined for the
nursery's play and living areas. The physical superposition of the two levels
corresponds with the superposition of the functions (nursery with the garden
level / administration and reception with the upper level). The frameworks of
the large bay windows are embedded within the floor and ceiling and slide
laterally to disappear entirely behind a hidden double-wall and pivoting
vertical panels in the interior doors permit natural ventilation and smoke
extraction. A deep void created between the building and the hillside and
enclosed by a sunroof forms a vertical linking element uniting the northern
face of the project. Standing in this atrium, we read the entirety of the
excavation by the height of the building against the hillside. The natural relationship
between the interior and exterior spaces concludes the relationship between the
ground and the sky.
View Original