Takeru Shoji Architects has designed a nursery school in Niigata, Japan, that forms a seamless connection between its rooms, the building, and the surrounding area. Called The Center for Early Childhood Education and Care, the school is dedicated to the principles of engaging “naturally with nature.” 

The single-story wooden building was designed to establish a mutual relationship between it and the surrounding village, in which the village is involved in the children’s learning and play, and the nursery functions to revitalize the village. 

A series of workshops, including childcare researchers and workers, parents, and local residents, was conducted to discuss the potential of hosting a school that would serve an area with an aging population and declining birthrate. The participants decided on a vision to create the nursery school to work like a village and for the village to function like a nursery school.

The permeable school allows children to move easily between interior rooms, exterior playgrounds, and the village itself. The building is also open to villagers as a site for community interaction. The village’s winding, narrow streets are invited into the school, becoming exterior corridors that continue to the back of the building.

Due to the site conditions, large timbers were prohibited from being transported. Therefore, wooden trusses were built by combining small timbers to create the nursery spaces. Trusses with apexes facing up and down were combined to create a series of truss roofs. Moving the intersection of the trusses from the top of the partition walls allows for a more expressive environment in each of the rooms. An open space above the partition provides a sense of connection. 

A childcare support office and deck plaza are located in front of the building, which are used for local farmers’ markets and food truck events. 

Additionally, air conditioners and total heat exchangers lie under the prefectural cedar flooring, which creates an underfloor air chamber. This is balanced by radiant heat. 

According to the architects, the nursery school’s opening has fostered greater socialization between the children, as well as the parents who engaged with one another between drop-offs and pick-ups. The openness and flexibility of the school design are establishing a new form of everyday life in the village.