일본의 HIBINOSEKKEI + Youji no Shiro은 지금까지 350개 이상의 건축 프로젝트를 한 회사로, 탁아시설, 육아시설, 유치원 등을 포함해 특히 어린이를 위한 환경을 갖춘 건물 인프라를 디자인하는 것으로 유명하다. 다음은 HIBINOSEKKEI + Youji no Shiro가 근대적인 교육 활동을 위해 혁신적인 표준을 달성하려는 방법들과 자사의 프로젝트 작품에 대해 이야기한 것을 정리한 것이다. 동시대적 아동 시설들을 위한 그들의 노하우를 배워볼 수 있는 기회가 될 것으로 보인다.
HIBINOSEKKEI + Youji no Shiro is a Japanese architecture firm based in Iiyama, Atsugi, in the Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. With an archive of over 350 projects, the firm specializes in designing and building infrastructures for childhood environments, including day cares, nurseries, and kindergartens. Taku Hibino from HIBINOSEKKEI + Youji no Shiro talked with Architizer about the firm’s work and methods for achieving innovative standards for modern pedagogical activities.
Architizer: What made you want to focus your architecture practice on kindergartens, nurseries and day cares?
Taku Hibino: Designing kindergartens and nurseries is
very difficult, but also very interesting. Because we know that early
childhood environment is very important for character growth, we focus
our expertise in this area to provide more professional design for this
important part of children’s lives.
What are the most important components of making architecture for children?
Kindergartens and nurseries are places dedicated to education, not simply a playground. Through the design, we want to inspire children to study and gain knowledge from their environment, stimulate their creativity and increase their physical and moral strength. The best design is one that encourages children to grow and mature.
Do you work with pedagogical specialists, the teachers, the parents or the children to come up with new designs?
You can’t do design simply based on one’s own likes and dislikes. The beginning of the design is sometimes based on scientific data, for which we work with researchers. Throughout the process of designing our projects, we exchange ideas with kindergarten teachers. We also do workshops with children and parents to communicate and think together.
A lot of your photographs of the projects show the spaces being used. Do you continue to visit your projects to see how the children appropriate the space in unique ways?
After finishing a project, I often go back to see the
condition of the used space. Sometimes, the facilities are used the way
we thought they would be, but other times, the children’s creativity
guides new ways to use facilities. The resulting uses go beyond what we
imagine ourselves, which is a nice surprise. I collect this information
and data as reference for the next design.
What is the context of educational infrastructure in Japan? Is it an investment that the public and clients are willing to experiment with?
In fact, it is very difficult to attract investment in Japan’s kindergartens and nursery schools. However, most of the people who are working in areas like us — designing and running spaces for young children — understand the importance of education and pursue their professions with a real passion.
from architizer