Tree of dreams: a children's day care centre is animated by an arboreal fantasy, inspired by its young users.Die Baupiloten is an architectural studio at the Berlin Technical University (TU) founded and led by architect Susanne Hofmann who trained at the AA. Projects to date have been characterised by highly imaginative communal spaces that provide a setting for rich social interaction, especially between children. The practice's first project, the Erika-Mann School in Berlin (AR December 2004) received prizes and awards for transforming a network of run-down corridors in an old nineteenth-century building. The more recently completed kindergarten 'Tree of Dreams' has a similar remit in which a dreary, functional building is charged with new life and energy. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Though the building only dates back to 1990, its dark corridors and bleak atrium were devoid of any stimulation. Die Baupiloten asked the children, whose ages range from 2 to 11 and who come from different ethnic backgrounds, to articulate their ideas for a new kind of kindergarten. The children's responses galvanised the architects to develop the notion of a 'tree of dreams', in practice an arboreal arboreal pertaining to trees, treelike, tree-dwelling. structure which filters and directs the daylight as it streams in through the central atrium roof. Different types of lighting scenarios are brought into play according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the seasons. For instance, the low sun during the winter months creates a mysteriously bright winter sparkle, as light is mirrored from metal sheets (metaphorical leaves) and guided deep into the building. So the tree of dreams acts as a sensor of the seasons, weather and time of the day. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] On the ground floor the corridor walls are reshaped as hollow, inclined tree trunks. Some of these house 'dream-blossoms', radial openings lined with backlit An LCD screen that has its own light source from the back of the screen, making the background brighter and characters appear sharper. textiles which on a dull day literally radiate ra·di·ate v. 1. To spread out in all directions from a center. 2. To emit or be emitted as radiation. ra colour. The children use the trunks as places to retreat and hide, and sounds of snoring snoring, rough, vibratory sounds made in breathing during sleep or coma. The noisy breathing is the result of an open mouth and a relaxation of the palate; it is frequently induced by lying on one's back. , hissing hiss n. 1. A sharp sibilant sound similar to a sustained s. 2. An expression of disapproval, contempt, or dissatisfaction conveyed by use of this sound. v. and giggling constantly permeate permeate /per·me·ate/ (-at?) 1. to penetrate or pass through, as through a filter. 2. the constituents of a solution or suspension that pass through a filter. per·me·ate v. the space. The tree has thus become an animate beast which can shine, twinkle, move and make sounds. There is even a tree telephone which conveys messages from other children. This latest project reinforces Die Baupiloten's sensitive, socially aware approach to design that succeeds in making apparently childish fantasies a resonant, imaginative reality. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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