“LEIMONDO” NURSERY SCHOOL IN NAGAHAMA | Archivision Hirotani Studio

This nursery school for children, from years zero to five years, stands on the outskirts of Nagahama city in Shiga prefecture. The school has been planned as a single-storey structure with a feeling of transparency between each of the spaces as well as the exterior landscape and, the “House of Light”,as we call it, has been placed in the main nursery area. What we mean by the “House of Light” are conical, square light-wells of different shapes, different color and facing different directions in the high ceiling bringing in various “lights” into the interior space, changing with the time and the seasons. The children may be able to feel the changes of these “lights”, even chase them and play with them, and to enjoy this gift of “light” in their daily activities. Furthermore, the shape of the “House of Light” may be seen from the outside as its unique silhouettes are outlined against the almost unchanging rural scenery, providing it with a little more character. Art director: Hirai Toru / Mars Design Workshop Furniture design: Koizumi Makoto Structural engineers: Umezawa structural engineers Mechanical engineers: Azu planning