St. Sebastian Kindergarten

Münster, Germany

Add To Collection

Other Projects by BOLLES+WILSON

Add To Collection

Housing at St. Sebastian Church

Add To Collection

St. Sebastian Kindergarten

Münster, Germany

Firm

BOLLES+WILSON

Type

Educational › Elementary School

YEAR

2013

The elegant form of the elliptical nave physically anchors its surrounding neighborhood. Now deconsecrated the logical investment driven choice would have been for St. Sebastianto disappear. Bravely the 2009 competition jury awarded the first prize to theBOLLES+WILSON scheme which envisaged the characteristic form given a new life andfunction – a kindergarten framed and shielded by site perimeter housing (2nd constructionphase).The lower levels of the church now host a kindergarten with three group rooms on thegroundfloor and two groups on the first floor. The roofs of these become all-weather playdecks – inside the church walls but climatically an outside space. The existing facade isperforated by a grid of 50 x 50 cm openings, which – now open – provide a constant andhealthy ventilation through this inside/outside “playroom“. Cold in winter, comfortablytemperate in summer, but always dry, now the kids can play outside all-the-year round. Theoriginal roof needed replacement, now industrial skylights flood the entire play deck withnatural light. In the twilight street lights illuminate this magical playground and give theimpression of a public space.The walls of this playroom carry 140 m2 of acoustic panels – 30 x 60 cm ‘sauerkraut’ pixelsoutlining an elephant, a snake and a giant crocodile.Grass green impact-protection flooring – usually used for sports fields – extend the interiorgreen-on-green concept to the outside play deck. Embedded in the floor giant hand- andfootprints suggest a play with scales.A new tapering extension with multipurpose room mediates between reprogrammed churchand street – it houses kitchen, offices, technical rooms and one big multipurpose room. Herea glazed entrance zone – with facing mothers waiting bench – leads to both kindergarten andthese adjacent spaces, which can also be used externally – for neighbourhood events.External play spaces include a bobby-car circuit and a play house which doubles as secondescape route from the inner play decks.