Kölängen Preschool

The wooden building that forms Kölängen preschool is located on the boundary between the Kölängen residential area and the agricultural landscape of Knivsta in Sweden. The interplay between the adjacent countryside and the school's interior is carefully worked through with an architectural approach which promotes the Reggio Emilia pedagogy. The preschool for 160 children is designed with sustainability in focus. Kölängen preschool is designed on two levels with a wooden facade which will gradually turn grey and merge into the enclosing coppice. The support for the Reggio Emilio pedagogy has influenced the floor plan, such as studios with open connections instead of traditional classrooms and departments. There is, for example, an art studio, a workshop, food studio, a large stage and a nature studio – all to increase the children's participation, creativity and learning. A generously designed staircase at the centre of the building constitutes the hub in the communication between the floors and contributes to abundant light from the skylights. Knivsta has a strong climate profile and sustainability aspects have therefore been central since the initial phase of the process. A decision that was made at an early stage was that the building should be certified as a passive house, which entails 75% lower energy consumption than ordinary preschools. The roof is covered with solar panels and the building is designed to optimize the indoor climate in order to create a pleasant environment. The windows are carefully positioned and are adapted to the daylight requirement, with solar screening ensuring that all rooms are comfortable to be in. The preschool is located at one end of the site shaping a well-balanced space creating a totality between building, yard and surroundings. This also creates a sequence of movement where the parents need to go through the school yard in order to get to the preschool's entrance and thus have time to de-stress and wind down before meeting their children. Like the design of the building, the vision was to create a pedagogical and playful outdoor space with direct contact to arable fields, rocky outcrops, woodlands and ancient monuments. The yard interacts with the indoor environment, connecting to the different studios and experimental spaces. Thanks to the large windows the connection between outside and inside are strengthen. Altogether the architecture offers an inside and outdoor environment enabling the teachers, in a natural way, to provide the children with an understanding of environmental issues.