Raising the awareness of sustainability from a child's perspective

Slagelse Municipality is realizing a new kindergarten with key focus on sustainability, learning, movement and nature. Our proposal for the institution creates awareness in children around natural ecosystems and the use of common resources, while aiming at becoming the first DGNB certified kindergarten on Zealand.  

The project creates a playful environment where kids can grow, move and learn in safe and recognizable surroundings. The institution is broken down in scale, by creating a child-sized village consisting of 7 unique houses – one for each child group. Low CO2 footprint material such as upcycled bricks, slate or woodchips characterize the individual houses, making them unique in both material and shape, while communicating sustainability.  The scheme is developed based on recent research studies showing that small-scale buildings with niches and unique spaces help create a feeling of familiarity for children.  

The individual houses are connected by an inner playscape, which extends into the playground – breaking down the barrier of outside-inside. The playscape intermediates 4 narratives related to sustainability combined with specific pedagogic learning themes, the narratives being: ‘The forest’, ‘The vegetable garden’, ‘The sensory garden’ and ‘The wave’. Within each theme the children can actively observe and investigate natural phenomena, sustainability and the use of common resources. An example is the theme of ‘The Forest’ that teaches about wood life cycle; starting from a forest of wild trees, turning into wooden trunks which continues inside the building. From here developing into a small wooden play hut and ending its narrative in the building itself, where the loadbearing construction and inner walls/ceilings is kept entirely in natural wood.  

WE is prequalified together with MOE, Hovaldt Arkitekter and Lassen Landskab as well as pedagogue consultant Marie Martinussen in the competition for the new Jonslunden Børnhave.