HIBINOSEKKEI and Youji no Shiro completed another creative collaboration to make KNO Nursery a place of play, reading, and calm in Nagasaki, Japan.

This is a daycare project in Nagasaki, Japan. Recently, it is a big concern that too much screen time has negative effects on children’s speech ability. On the other hand, reading a loud with interactive communication between children and adults makes their problematic behavior and parents’ stress reduce. From this background, the idea is to naturally empower children to read more and speak more and develop a rich mindset as ‘The Picture Book Forest Under a Roof’.

Several book corners are scattered all over the place to create the ambience of a book forest united under a single wooden roof. The book cabinet next to the kitchen consists of ‘Food and Food Education’. There is a hut which is filled with picture books. A ‘Creature Bookshelf’ was created next to the aquarium, consisting of books related to various living beings. A bookshelf below a skylight, ‘Earth Bookshelf’ consists of books related to sky and weather, A picture bookshelf near the entrance consists of books related to children and parents, also accessible to parents who visit the nursery, ‘Revitalizing Bookshelf’ for the post-sick children and class subjects bookshelf filled with teacher recommended books. Children will be able to learn a lot even while scanning through these diverse set of books in different corners of this nursery.

Moreover, the vernacular design of long eaves is adopted to protect the interiors from solar radiation in summers and naturally heating it in winters, not to rely on electric devices like air conditioner too much and making the design sustainable. Also, the color palette of the exteriors and interiors is based on the local countryside scenery, keeping it very natural and minimal, and making children being attached to the local.

Architect: HIBINOSEKKEI and Youji no Shiro
Photography: Toshinari Soga