COBE Architects, based in Copenhagen, have designed a kindergarten. Cartoon-like black houses with pointed roofs, drawn in the manner of children's illustrations, served as the main source of inspiration for the architects.
In 2011, COBE Architects won a competition to design the Frederiksvej Kindergarten, working in collaboration with landscape designers from the studio Preben Skaarup, the engineering agency Søren Jensen, and an educational-spaces consultancy.
Architect Dan Stubbergaard says that the studio sought to create something minimal and simple — something that would evoke a caricature of the way children draw houses.
COBE developed a series of multipurpose structures made from metal mesh, which filters natural daylight. Architect Dan Stubbergaard says that the studio sought to create something minimal and simple — something that would evoke a caricature of the way children draw houses.
The simplicity was maintained throughout — for instance, the clean rooflines were achieved through concealed gutters and very precise material joints, while the windows were carefully designed to give the impression of being frameless.
The deliberately limited palette used for the interior and exterior wall finishes gives the older residents of the kindergarten the freedom to choose their own colours for the interiors — a freedom they clearly make the most of.
The use of white throughout the interior also enlarges the sense of space and maximises the amount of light within it.
The kindergarten's architecture stands out sharply against the surrounding buildings, almost like a film set. The blocks appear scattered at random across the central part of the site, and the varied roof forms together visualise the boundlessness and spontaneity of a child's imagination — a light yet perfectly logical way of seeing the world.
In May, Losko Magazine wrote about another striking and unconventional house, designed by the architecture studio Guillaume Ramillien Architecture.
