Kindergarten, Semily, Czech Republic

Architect: Marek Topič
Text: Eszter Götz
Photos: BoysPlayNice

The new Kindergarten in Semily (CZ) designed for 110 children combines a classic municipal kindergarten and a Waldorf kindergarten in a single building. The aim was to create a building with centralized facilities and a kitchen for two independent two-class kindergartens for children aged three to six. The complex includes the main building (4 classrooms, kitchen, facilities), a shelter for storing bicycles and communal waste, a pavilion with tools and toys storage, and gazebos for the municipal and the Waldorf kindergarten. The mass of the main building separates the garden area from the parking area, and its curvature minimizes mutual shading with neighboring buildings. The classrooms and their service areas are arranged in a circular pattern around two gravity centers – atriums. The atriums separate the different parts of the layout, but also serve as a communication center and space for common activities. From the center, it is also easy to get an overview of what is happening in or around the kindergarten. The primary role of the service boxes is to articulate the space and to differentiate the rooms intended for the children’s stay.

Client: Municipality of Semily
Architect: Marek Topič – MTA Studio
Co-author: Vratislav Ansorge
Design: Michal Pokorný
HVAC: Michal Pokorný, Dita Zlámalová, Martin Uher, Jan Roubal
Structure: Jan Pohl, Martin Víšek
Public utilities: Michal Mošnička, Pavel Jakubů
Electrical engineering: Predrag Laketič
Landscape, garden: Lucie Vogelová, Lada Veselá
Fire protection: Zdeňka Kubištová, Lucie Soukeníková
Kitchen technology: Oldřich Krejčí
Acoustics: Tomáš Rozsíval
Main contractor: BAK