NAYA Architects / Manabu Naya

The Showa Early Childhood Education and Care Center is an integrated kindergarten and nursery located on the campus of Showa Women's University, in Tokyo's Setagaya district. The client requested a facility to serve a total of 223 children divided into 12 classes ranging from infant to 5 years old. Our design brought the playground up to the second story to ensure that it would get plenty of sunlight. By allowing the children's activities to spill out into the neighborhood on the building's west side, adjacent to the road, we aimed to create a warm and friendly building that was open to the neighborhood and did not feel oppressive.

The first floor houses many different rooms, including classrooms for the younger children, office space, and a play area, all of which are laid out in a figure-eight formation without any dead ends. Walls between classrooms are kept to a minimum to allow free movement back and forth. The second- and third-floor plans are compact but still maintain a high degree of flexibility, with the children able to enter the playground from many different points. The playground features two hills. The design allows the children to enjoy running around on the varied topography while also bringing sunlight all the way to the back of the office below. Through careful and creative design, we aimed to create a childcare center that would both match the spirit of Showa Women's University and become a symbol of the neighborhood.