die baupiloten: kindergarten taka tuka land

the main external structure – ‘delving into lemonade’ image courtesy of jan bitter and baupilotenwhen founding die baupiloten, susanne hofmann wanted to develop a program which allowed fourth and fifth year architecture students to gain real life experience on architectural projects, many of which involved the reconstruction of learning institutions and children’s spaces.

one such project is the kindergarten taka-tuka-land, located in berlin, germany. the architecture draws from children’s book ‘pippi longstocking’ by astrid lindgren, and her ‘taka-tuka-land’. the original temporary structure of the school has been turned into an everlasting space that grows and flows. there are seven main points of contact that children can interact with and play. for example, there are three large-scale windows which with the midday sun, turns the interior room into a glittering environment due to crystals which have been mounted on the windows.

yellow is the dominant color. the architectural highpoint is the fictional ‘lemonade-island’ where the children can stand taller than grown-ups. oblique surfaces invite every child to play and be encompassed by the streams of yellow. the building itself is to be interpreted as pippi’s old oak tree in which the hollow interior of ‘lemonade’ is produced. in the exterior, children can climb, nap and hide and the façade is well-cushioned and offers protection from all weather conditions. the luminous textiles shine colorfully both on the outside and inside. in this structure, children can lose themselves in play and imagination within the vibrant world.

on the interior and exterior of the building there are points of interaction image courtesy of jan bitter and baupiloten

the external structure flows into the interior image courtesy of jan bitter and baupiloten

the exterior membrane provides areas for hiding, playing and sleeping image courtesy of jan bitter and baupiloten

the lemonade continues inside with seating areas image courtesy of jan bitter and baupiloten

crystals on the windows result in a glittering space image courtesy of jan bitter and baupiloten