Children’s Forest Nursery School / Takashige Yamashita Office

Children’s Forest is a nursery school to hold children between the age of 0 to 5, planned on a forest hill near Mountain Fuji.

The site was filled with Hinoki trees when we first visited. The sunlight penetrating scarcely through the branches spread plentiful light bubbles overlapping each other on the ground, from which we got inspired to create a sunlit place softly floating in the woods. Its topographical feature - the undulating slope and the hill rising up to 3-4 meters to the west of the site - was another important element to retain for us, as we believed it is the given natural condition for the children to be able to experience as part of the education they expect to learn here.

The rooms for each age group and other programs such as temporary care or teachers' lounge are made as separate cubical units sitting on different ground levels at different angles. Each volume is to face its own view out of various natural scenes around - wide grass field spread out in front of the terrace of 2-5 year-olds for direct and easy access whenever children want to run around, along with the 8-meters-tall symbolic tree to sit under and the hill to climb with a small tunnel to crawl into; forest and woods for rooms that needs a rather calm atmosphere; sky changing its color over the trees always visible from the courtyard beside the hall, etc.

The other side of the rooms is connected inward by ramps and in-between spaces/courtyard, creating an interior landscape where children can play, crawl or climb in a more comfortable and safer condition even in bad weather. A multipurpose hall capable of holding up to 150 people is located in the center surrounded by the room units for everyone to easily get together for a daily playtime or events. Despite the large covering over the hall, the gaps appearing between the roof and different heights of the volumes, and the openings on the eaves allow natural light and greenery to stream into the interior space and connect people inside visually and physically to the environment. The open courtyard with a wooden deck is accessible from the hall providing a safe playground, especially for little kids not yet ready to run around in a larger field. On the other side of the hall, more active children would enjoy climbing the bouldering, up where it connects to the backyard on a higher ground level, embraced by the forest.

Integrated with its rich natural context, we wish this garden of children provides a warm and healthy environment for the little ones to grow up with some good memories from the forest.