"DREAM" BOX FOR KIDS : Songpa Wirye Kindergarten

Located among the residential complexes of a new town, Seoul Songpa Wirye Kindergarten is a vibrant place where children can freely explore their imagination without feeling isolated or alienated within an austere urban environment surrounded by countless apartment buildings and asphalt roads.

The porous, box-like envelope and the indoor and outdoor spaces it creates generate a variety of atmospheres that change with the weather and time of day, enabling diverse learning and play activities. Faced with the physical constraint of a narrow site where the buildable area had to be maximized, we wrapped the building in a solid concrete envelope punctuated by openings of various sizes and shapes. This creates an enclosed transitional and multipurpose in-between space between the road and the kindergarten, overcoming the site’s limited capacity for conventional outdoor space while enhancing the safety of the children.

At the southern front of the kindergarten, an inviting open space serves as both an entrance courtyard and a play area. A freestanding wall that functions as a physical and psychological safety barrier is integrated into the building mass. This clearly defines the territory of the kindergarten while allowing open and active communication with its surroundings through arched openings of various sizes. The design also allows neighboring residents to approach and visually observe the kindergarten, while facilitating supervision and protection of the children. In this safer environment, children can focus more fully on learning and play. Growing day by day, they will fill the diverse spaces of Songpa Wirye Kindergarten with their own ideas, imagination, and activities.