The city of Antwerp is rapidly expanding its kindergarten facilities and the site next to the preschool Pagadder offered a large green open spot in the heart of the city. Building with prefabricated elements made it possible to erect the building for 56 children within a record time of 4 months and to meet the urgent need.

The L-shaped volume of the new temporary nursery embraces a sunny common playground that enjoys maximal privacy from the street side. In between the preserved higher trees, prairie grasses and wild flowers will overgrow the garden where a new meandering canopy offers shade and a dry connection with the existing preschool.

The varying rhythms of the high windows and the slender terraces lend the building an elegant character that is further enhanced by the changing direction of the facade panels. The terracotta-colour, referring to the brick architecture of the surroundings, covers every element of the steel construction, rendering it abstract and accentuating the different textures.

The plan organises 4 different groups with each their own living, sleeping and bathing spaces around a central hall with staircase where the parents leave their children to the caretakers and can share their experiences with each other.