PLAYSCHOOL COMPETITION

International ideas competition for an architectural proposal of a playschool located in Amsterdam.

As Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world”. We strive therefore to create a learning environment instead of a conventional playschool, a place for kids to learn, discover and play by themselves from early ages.

This environment is organized around a public covered plaza which links different spaces where all kind of activities take place, not only educational but also cultural and recreational. The main activities are carried out in the playschool, in a swimming pool, in a small theatre and in a bar restaurant and in the public space itself which finally penetrates into the waters of the IJ Bay.

The playschool itself is open and diaphanous and it has several patios in order to provide as much sunlight as possible. The private patios are mainly intended for babies and smaller children and the semi-private patios and the big terrace for the older children. Anyway, the public space outside the playschool it is intended to be part of the playground in sunny days.

All this complex is covered by a slightly sloping roof which is passable and it allows to enter into the IJ Bay. The roof ends as an amphitheatre headed into the public space where nowadays allocates some festivals and other cultural activities. The roof therefore becomes a space itself and can be reached through the grandstand, a ramp connected directly to the street and a spiral ramp that connects both sides of the platform.