Fuji Kindergarten by Takaharu + Yui Tezuka is a lovely design. An eliptical roof covers the open rooms and encloses a courtyard where the roof also becomes an outside play area. The children come first and the playground is integral to every aspect of the programme and the childs learning.
View the slideshow about it and then read this article about the Thomas Deacon City Academy designed by Norman Foster, at £46.4m set to become the most expensive state school in the UK, and it’s without a playground at all! The last playground free school in the UK, failed, and then got itself a playground. When Children become ‘clients’ and have every bit of time structured out they will suffer. Play is integral to everyone, not just children, and unstructured play is just as essential. That’s why the Fuji Kindergarten is so fantastic and though I haven’t seen the Foster School I know that I hate it already.
