Münster Kindergarten Design Images, German Nursery Building Project Photos, News

Kindergarten in Münster

St. Sebastian church redevelopment, Germany design by BOLLES+WILSON Architects

24 Jul 2013

St. Sebastian – A church becomes a kindergarten

Design: BOLLES+WILSON

Location: Münster, north Germany

Kindergarten in Münster building by BOLLES+WILSON Architects

The elegant form of the elliptical nave physically anchors its surrounding neighbourhood.

St. Sebastian church building interior design:

photo © Ahlbrand-Dornseif–Wakonigg

Kindergarten in Münster Building

Now deconsecrated the logical investment driven choice would have been for St. Sebastian to disappear. Bravely the 2009 competition jury awarded the first prize to the BOLLES+WILSON scheme which envisaged the characteristic form given a new life and function – a kindergarten framed and shielded by site perimeter housing (2nd construction phase).

The lower levels of the church now host a kindergarten with three group rooms on the groundfloor and two groups on the first floor. The roofs of these become all-weather play decks – inside the church walls but climatically an outside space. The existing facade is perforated by a grid of 50 x 50 cm openings, which – now open – provide a constant and healthy ventilation through this inside/outside “playroom“. Cold in winter, comfortably temperate in summer, but always dry, now the kids can play outside all-the-year round. The original roof needed replacement, now industrial skylights flood the entire play deck with natural light. In the twilight street lights illuminate this magical playground and give the impression of a public space.

St. Sebastian church being redeveloped:

photo © BOLLES+WILSON

The walls of this playroom carry 140 m2 of acoustic panels – 30 x 60 cm ‘sauerkraut’ pixels outlining an elephant, a snake and a giant crocodile.

St. Sebastian church redevelopment as a kindergarten:

photo © BOLLES+WILSON

Grass green impact-protection flooring – usually used for sports fields – extend the interior green-on-green concept to the outside play deck. Embedded in the floor giant hand- and footprints suggest a play with scales.

Kindergarten in Münster:

photo Markus Hauschild © BOLLES+WILSON

A new tapering extension with multipurpose room mediates between reprogrammed church and street – it houses kitchen, offices, technical rooms and one big multipurpose room. Here a glazed entrance zone – with facing mothers waiting bench – leads to both kindergarten and these adjacent spaces, which can also be used externally – for neighbourhood events.

Kindergarten in Münster exterior & interior views:

photos : Markus Hauschild © BOLLES+WILSON

External play spaces include a bobby-car circuit and a play house which doubles as second escape route from the inner play decks.

Kindergarten in Münster interior:

photo : Christian Richters © BOLLES+WILSON

St. Sebastian Münster Redevelopment – Building Information

Title: St. Sebastian – A church becomes a kindergarten – ‘KiTa Südhafen’
Address: Scheibenstraße 36, 48153 Münster, Deutschland
Architects: BOLLES+WILSON – Prof. Julia Bolles-Wilson, Peter Wilson, Münster
Construction supervision: Klaus Kuchenbuch
Project architects: Anne Elshof, Christoph Lammers, Christoph Macholz
Competition: 2009, 1st prize
Planning: Oct 2010 – Aug 2012
Realisation: Sep 2011 – Jan 2013
Gross floor area: 1.120 m2
Volume: 4.400 m3
volume inside of former nave = ca. 8000 m3
volume kindergarten (heated volume) = 3400 m3 (40%)
play decks (unheated volume) = 4700 m3 (60%)
Outdoor space: “indoor/outdoor”-play decks (inside of the nave) = 540 m2
outdoor playground (outside of the nave) = ca. 1000 m2

Costs: 3 Mio € total investment
Client: Wohn+Stadtbau GmbH
Tenant: AWO Arbeiterwohlfahrt, Münsterland-Recklinghausen
Photographers: Markus Hauschild, Christian Richters
Copyright: BOLLES+WILSON

FURTHER ENGINEERS

Structural engineers / Building physics: ahw Ingenieure GmbH, Münster
Service engineers: Ingenieurbüro Nordhorn GmbH & Co. KG, Münster
Fire protection: W+W Sachverständige und Ingenieure für Brandschutz GmbH & Co. KG, Everswinkel
(Day)light simulation: Peter Andres – Beratende Ingenieure für Lichtplanung Brandschutz GmbH & Co. KG, Hamburg

PRODUCTS

Impact-protection flooring: BSW Berleburger Schaumstoffwerk GmbH, Bad Berleburg, DE
Skylights: JET BRAKEL AERO GmbH, Voerde, DE

Kindergarten in Münster images / information from BOLLES+WILSON

Bolles Wilson

BOLLES+WILSON GmbH & Co. KG based in Muenster, northern Germany

Location: Scheibenstraße 36, 48153 Münster, Germany, western Europe