Located in Niigata, a port city on Japan’s western coast, the Yamaikarashi Nursery School—officially named the Center for Early Childhood Education and Care—was designed with a clear mission: to weave “natural engagement with nature” into the very fabric of the children's learning environment. The idea of "creating a nursery school like a village and fostering a village like a nursery school" is taking root, promising a bright future for both the children and the village.
Perched atop a sand dune at the end of a winding path, this single-story wooden building offers a dynamic, character-filled space designed to create a rich and expansive environment for children. The design extends the concept of childcare beyond the nursery walls, integrating the building, playground, and surrounding village into one cohesive environment. The architects aimed to establish a "mutually watchful relationship," where the village actively contributes to the children's growth, while the children, in turn, bring renewed vitality to the village.
The creation of this nursery school was a collaborative endeavor involving childcare researchers, workers, parents, and local residents, who participated in workshops to assess the benefits of rebuilding the school on a suburban site. With concerns about an aging population and declining birthrate, they envisioned a nursery school that would double as a community hub. The concept they developed was to "create a nursery school like a village and foster a village like a nursery school," allowing children to seamlessly transition between indoor spaces, outdoor playgrounds, and the village. The school was also designed to be accessible to villagers, serving as a place for community interaction.
Due to site restrictions, large timbers couldn't be transported, so wooden trusses were assembled on-site from smaller pieces to create spacious nursery areas. These trusses, with their alternating apexes, give each room a unique and expressive character while maintaining an open and connected atmosphere.
The village’s winding, narrow streets are seamlessly woven into the nursery school design, creating exterior corridors that extend to the back of the building, allowing the children to feel as though they are still part of the village.
At the front of the nursery school, a childcare support office and deck plaza serve as spaces for community events, like farmers' markets and food trucks, blending the school's activities with those of the village.
The building also features innovative underfloor air conditioning and total heat exchangers beneath the prefectural cedar flooring, ensuring a comfortable environment for the children without direct airflow, with radiant heat providing ideal conditions for learning and play.
According to the architects, since the school’s opening, its flexible layout has fostered more interaction among children of different age groups. As the children spend more time outdoors, senior citizens have increasingly taken walks in the area, enjoying the lively scenes of play. The nursery school’s design also encourages parents to connect under its eaves during drop-off and pick-up times, strengthening the community spirit. This "vaguely bounded nursery school" is beginning to achieve its vision of creating a flexible, expansive environment for children's learning and play, addressing the needs of the entire community, and nurturing a new way of life in the village.
