Montessori Kindergarten 1st Shenzhen · 深圳一期蒙台梭利幼儿园

Thoughtful · 深思熟虑
Montessori Kindergarten 1st Shenzhen A place to let sail kids’ imagination!
In the high-end project, with the main building facing the Shenzhen sea, the ArkA design team applied some cruise ship details to help safe movements. Small bumps and falls are common as a child pushes physical skills to the limit. This is a normal part of how children learn and develop.

Necessary furniture and bathrooms inside the classrooms were fixed, but we left as much space as possible to organise in a flexible way various activities. Every classroom has a kitchen area made according to kids' physical proportion. Windows between bathrooms, corridors and classrooms were designed to make easy for teachers to observe the kids, as well as let in more natural light and ventilation. Corridors and connection areas become an open space where kids run around freely and play with others. In public areas, we used curves instead of right-angled lines and built a more children-friendly and safer environment where they can play without risking harming themselves against sharp corners.

Vision · 远见

Under the leadership of the Italian architect Michele Lanari, the ArkA team is focused in design environments for children, especially kindergartens and other educational institutions, children's rooms and parent-child spaces. Montessori Kindergarten in Shenzhen uses natural elements in its design, respects nature, considers safety and practicality in its function. The design creates a peaceful, harmonious and safe environment so that children can study and play happily in a free and comfortable atmosphere that inspires children to develop various abilities by themselves.

Minimalism · 极简主义

Based on the Montessori philosophy and teaching method, the space has very simple decorations and colour patterns; there is a theory in Montessori's educational philosophy called "undisturbed learning time". That is, children have at least three hours of undisturbed learning time, the design ideology of “blank space and minimalism”, which reduces visual pollution and allows children to eliminate external interference and concentrate on learning in a more "Zen" space.
"Less is more”. The corridor and its jointed areas are designed as an open space for children to move and play. During the process of space design, we endeavour to adopt the principle of "leave blank". In addition to simple decorations, bright colours and fixed types of furniture and toilets, we leave as much flexible space as possible to facilitate children to play freely and make it easy for them carry out different activities with the aim to encourage children to fulfill it with their own imagination and creativity.

Nature · 自然

The design of Shenzhen Montessori Kindergarten 1st utilise the space as a third teacher and combine with the Montessori educational concept to create an environment that is amiable to nature which is good for the growth of children, allowing them to play and learn by acting freely and safely.

Following these concepts, we used blue dots design on the ceiling of the main central plaza to resemble the blue sky above the sea. The handrails are designed with the same shape of those on a ship to pattern a touchable feeling of being in a boat. To reproduce as much nature as possible, we also chose a dominant and soft yellow wood texture tone for windows, doors and furniture. In addition, our design included a transition of flooring materials with cork serving as a division between linoleum floor and walls. This softwood material stimulates children’s interest in getting closer to nature.

An easy and safe design was applied especially to the doors so that younger kids can use independently without worrying about the sharp corners. This is ArkA designed doors. Its copyright includes an anti-pitching finger system to create a safe environment where children can experience all aspects of daily routines so to improve self-awareness according to the Montessori philosophy.