Bilingual Preschool Kuwait, Kuwaiti Education Building, Architect, Images

BBS Preschool Kuwait Education Building

Bilingual Kuwaiti Education Development, Middle East kindergarten & nursery design by AGi architects

26 Apr 2012

BBS Preschool Kuwait

Design: AGi architects

picture : AGi architects

BBS Preschool

AGi architects proposal for designing a bilingual preschool in Kuwait consists of two areas for different uses. On the one hand, educational facilities, including a kindergarten and a nursery, will be located in an area of 2,380 sqm and, on the other hand, a residential building of 4,590 sqm will house teachers.

The school has been designed with collaborative efforts under an organizational management team that influences the quality and objectives of the project. Parents, students and teachers all play important roles in the development of the school environment and should therefore participate in the collaborative efforts of the design.

picture : AGi architects

The Building for children should be created from the child’s point of view, where the design is set specifically to familiarize with their world; taking into account their dimensions and having a clear understanding of spatial and social organization to help children get their bearing. The design should also have the flexibility to evolve and grow simultaneously as the children themselves grow, laying the foundation of every form of learning in the future.

The building will be developed and synchronized in two parallel scales: throughout the school and from within the classroom level. AGi architects intend to create spaces, corners and details that provide as much potential as possible to encourage children’s independent activities, communication, orientation, social interaction and aesthetics.

The experience should extend beyond the educational realm, to include cultural and social interchange.

picture : AGi architects

Residential use

The tower contains a total of 41 apartments for the teachers, with the configuration of 3 apartments per floor, however the order is interrupted in some floors where one apartment is transformed into a communal area comprising of a kitchen, dining room, T.V room, computer room and terraces. Where the tower meets the ground it houses the communal facilities containing a gym and a swimming pool that is shared between the preschool and the tower providing a link joining the two buildings together. Two larger apartments are also located on the ground floor, which that have the flexibility to adapt to clinics with direct access from the street.

Open classrooms

Classrooms are double sided, where one looks into the interior of the building and the circulation, and the other looks out onto different gardens and playgrounds. Each classroom contain a small kitchenette, individual bathroom, play area, rest area, work area, space for teachers to instruct, read and supervise.

Children can freely migrate from one area to the next without having to cross any boundaries, choosing to individually express themselves and controlling the direction of their learning path. The classrooms also contain areas where children can participate in group work such as watering plants, taking care of animals and keeping the class environment clean, which encourages social participation and community work.

Kindergarten and Nursery

Although the Kindergarten and Nursery share the lobby on the ground floor, the nature of each age group and therefore the requirement for each classroom, spatial configuration, and circulation is adapted accordingly. As a result, the building is developed as an ascending ramp directly relative to the children’s growth, the older the child becomes the higher up along the ramp he is situated. Different scenarios and circulation routes along the ramp are adapted for the various age groups and users, where access is limited to the type of user, such as children, teachers, parents, nursers.

MIPIM AR Future Projects Awards

The MIPIM Architectural Review Future Projects Awards are for unbuilt or incomplete projects spanning across eight categories. The awards have been running since 2002 and take place at MIPIM, the international property market, which attracted over 20,000 delegates to Cannes between 6-9 March, 2012.

With a strong focus on creativity, these awards are a chance to showcase schemes that are examples of fine architecture, but have also responded to the client’s development brief, and considered the way in which they will impact and contribute to the community around them.

AGi Architects

BBS Preschool Kuwait images / information from AGi architects

Schools

Location: Kuwait, the Middle East, western Asia