Architects: xystudio
Area: 810 m²
Year: 2015
Photography: Courtesy of xystudio
Program / Use / Building Function: 2 Nursery Rooms, # Kindergarten Rooms
City: Ostrow Mazowiecka
Country: Poland
Yellow Elephant Kindergarten, designed by xystudio in Ostrow Mazowiecka, Poland, completed in 2015, features a ground-floor atrial building with five rooms accommodating 125 children. The structure employs glued laminated timber construction and integrates natural light and accessible outdoor spaces to create a child-friendly environment. The design emphasizes scale and light, with low windows and skylights ensuring optimal conditions for the young occupants.
The kindergarten is designed as a single-story, atrial building with five rooms: two for nursery and three for kindergarten, accommodating 125 children. The pent roof is constructed from glued laminated timber.
An interior courtyard with a sandpit and tree serves as the heart of the building. The courtyard-facing facade features large windows, maximizing natural light. Locker rooms connect directly to classrooms, with sliding windows allowing quick garden access.
Glazed corridors and low roofs connect the courtyard, blurring the line between indoors and outdoors. A roofed arbour, which functions as a stage or audience area, completes the composition.
The building’s orientation ensures proper sunlight exposure, with high shading levels in the inner courtyard.
Classroom lintels are at 1.5m, with each classroom having 2 or 3 skylights for diffused light, preventing overheating. The courtyard layout follows the sun path, ensuring alternating shaded areas throughout the day.
Classroom windows are long with low lintels adjusted to a child’s height, enhancing accessibility and outside contact.
The building’s orientation ensures proper sunlight exposure and high shading levels in the inner courtyard.
Classroom lintels are uniformly set at 1.5 meters, with each room featuring two or three skylights for diffused light without overheating. Courtyard arrangement follows the sun’s path.
The playground between the building wings provides a safe, comfortable area for children to play, with alternating shaded sections throughout the day.
The modular layout creates clear functions: the east part houses the nursery and social facilities, the west part the kindergarten, and the central part administration. Corridors serve as locker rooms, well-lit and connected to the courtyard.
In conclusion, the kindergarten life centers around the courtyard’s “magic” tree. The roofed arbour and courtyard complete the building.
The building’s wings act as a wind barrier, allowing children to spend more time outdoors safely and comfortably.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: 76 Generała Władysława Sikorskiego Street, Ostrów Mazowiecka 07-300, Poland
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
