Building the perfect space for kids to learn and play requires a designer in touch with his or her inner child. Takaharu Tekuza fit the bill, and it shows in his unorthodox design for the Fuji Kindergarten in Tachikawa, Japan.
The oval structure is built around a group of 80-foot-high zelkova trees. The wide, low roof serves as a floating walkway in the middle of the greenery, and the trees are covered in netting, allowing the kids to safely play around and climb the trees.
“I think architecture is capable of changing this world,” Tekuza told the audience, “and this is one attempt to change the world of children.”
The kindergarten, he says, was designed to play into the natural curiosity of the young students, and give them a safe space to explore and play.
