Transparent kindergarten

In Guastalla, Regio Calabria, Italy, there's an interesting little kindergarten. It was built on the ruins of two schools destroyed by the 2012 earthquake, designed by Mario Cucinella Architects (MCA). The transparent kindergarten is a naive reproduction of the whale's belly in the story of Pinocchio. At the same time it is environmentally friendly, sustainable and fully integrated with nature.

A bright, green and autonomous building

The building is mostly transparent, with the glazed surfaces interrupted at regular intervals by large, curved, wave-like wooden frames, cut to let in natural light. Everything is designed so that, when looking from one end of the building to the other, the succession of wooden frames creates the illusion of an endless cave.

As I said, the kindergarten is ecological but also autonomous. It is built entirely from natural and/or recycled materials. On the roof of the kindergarten there is a photovoltaic system that generates energy and one for rainwater harvesting. The energy is used to produce hot water for space heating. The rainwater is used in the bathrooms and to irrigate the outside green areas. The heating system is a system of pipes that run through the floor. The kindergarten has been soundproofed and thermally insulated using the most modern techniques.

Striking is that it was all realized in just 6 months, at a cost of 1650 euro/sqm. The kindergarten can accommodate up to 120 children. All these children are under 3 years old.