Kindergarden "Im Brühl"
Aldingen

Project description

In order to meet the different requirements from an urban planning, design, functional, ecological and economic perspective, the municipality of Aldingen decided to hold a realization competition with a preliminary application process for the new construction of the Kindergarden “Im Brühl”.

PLAN FORWARD architects impressed the jury with their concept and were awarded 3rd place for their design.

Briefing

The Protestant kindergarden "Im Brühl" was built by the municipality of Aldingen in 1953 and extended by a flat-roofed building in 1968. According to the competition brief, a new facility with a total of 5 regular groups and a “Krippengruppe” is now to be built in place of the current three-group kindergarden. To ensure that the new building is equipped for the future, it should allow for other group constellations to be easily implemented at a later point in time.

The assessment criteria for the competition were, on the one hand, the urban planning, architectural and design quality and, on the other hand, the fulfilment of the room program and functional requirements. In addition, the economic efficiency (investment and structural follow-up costs) as well as sustainability qualities, in particular energy and resource efficiency, were included in the evaluation.

The PLAN FORWARD-concept

The use of ecological and sustainable materials is a central design principle for the kindergarten. At the same time, the focus is on selecting durable and easy-to-maintain materials.

In their design, the architects from PLAN FORWARD decided to continue using the existing gabled building. The new structure was placed parallel to the 1950s building and perpendicular to the sloping hillside. "This approach to preserving the building is to be welcomed for reasons of sustainability and has been solved well here despite some difficulties in adequately utilizing the existing space," the jury's statement said. 

The jury emphasized that connecting the head-end building to the east side of the existing building with a flat gable in line with the access road was "an exciting architectural response to the encounter between old and new". The "interior qualities and good orientation in the kindergarden" were generally rated positively. 

The jury also praised the interior and exterior design as "spacious", "flooded with light" and "friendly". The concept offers a "high quality of stay" and "promotes early childhood education", as expressly called for in the award.

The use of natural, light-colored, child-friendly materials is often part of the educational concept, especially in children's and educational facilities: a conscious approach to the environment and nature are important aspects for early childhood education as well as the building construction.