Kindergarten No. 422 in Warsaw began its history back in the 1980s, as a single-story building made with large-panel technology. Although still inconspicuous, today it is already a completely different building, which in its interior hides new departments, rooms for sensory activities and even.... a slide! Warsaw-based studio Kwadratura is responsible for the modernization project.
Newly built kindergartens can delight. Realizations such as Przedszkolna Chatka in Bydgoszcz set a good direction for erected educational facilities aimed at the youngest. However, we still have plenty of kindergarten buildings in our country that were built back in the last century. Demolishing them would be a waste and a crime on the environment. Can they, too, match the new developments in the aesthetics of interior design, the attractions and infrastructure offered, and the environmental characteristics? The answer to this question lies in the modernization carried out according to the design of the Kwadratura architectural studio.
kindergarten of record
One such building was Kindergarten No. 422 in Warsaw, which was erected in 1985 on Brązownicza Street in Chomiczówka.The one-story block based on prefabricated technology in the Zeran system at the time of its construction was a good answer to the gigantic demand for educational facilities, but as the second decade of the 21st century dawned, it began to deviate from current standards. The inexorable passage of time also left its mark on the dilapidated building - both children and those working in the kindergarten had to face difficult housing conditions. In 2020, money appeared for the modernization and expansion of the building - the tender for the preparation of design documentation was won by the Warsaw-based Kwadratura studio, responsible, among other things, for the Mazurian Biodiversity and Education Center KUMAK or the design of the Environmental Education Center in Młociny.
Kindergarten No. 422 in Warsaw - Modernization of a kindergarten in Chomiczówka.
© materials courtesy of Kwadratura studio
By slide or by stairs?
The premise was relatively simple - to add an additional floor to the kindergarten and modernize its interior. In practice, there were many difficulties related to the spatial technology in which the building was made. Nevertheless, with the right design and material solutions, it succeeded, and today the facility can offer 175 places for children in seven teaching rooms, space for sports activities, sensory therapy rooms, speech therapist and psychologist's offices and staff rooms. Both the new and old spaces have been comprehensively designed, using soft colors and wall-mounting. The biggest attraction, in turn, is the slide located in the lobby, with its forms resembling a fairy-tale tree. It serves as an alternative way for children to get from the floor to the first floor of the building. The facades of the building have also been changed - racks have appeared on them, carrying climbing plants.
Kindergarten No. 422 in Warsaw - Modernization of the kindergarten in Chomiczówka district.
© materials courtesy of Kwadratura studio
twice as much for twice as little
The choice of modernization in opposition to the erection of a new building is, as a rule, a pro-environmental design decision. In this case, the building's excellent environmental performance was also determined by the solutions used, which, although not among the pioneering ones, made it possible to achieve unexpectedly good results. The implementation of the Quadratura project was recognized in this year's PLGBC Green Building Awards in the sustainable modernization category. It's hardly surprising, since despite doubling the volume and almost doubling the number of children who can use the kindergarten, it was possible to reduce energy consumption by half. Such an effect was achieved, among other things, thanks to proper insulation of the building, and the use of photovoltaic panels, ventilation with recuperation and other modern technologies.
Kindergarten No. 422 in Warsaw - The interiors were finished using muted colors
© materials courtesy of Kwadratura studio
All of these beneficial changes took place in close cooperation between the designers and future users of the building. On the modernization of kindergarten No. 422 in Warsaw's Bielany district, we talk to Pawel Kubacz, co-founder of the Kwadratura architectural studio.
Przemysław Ciępka: The modernized kindergarten No. 422 in Warsaw was put into use this spring. What were the most important assumptions that guided you while working on this project?
Paweł Kubacz: The kindergarten was built under the Design and Build formula. We are not the biggest enthusiasts of this solution, but in this particular case everything went according to plan. An important aspect here was communication - we had a reliable and communicative contractor, support from the Bielany municipality, and above all, good contact with the director of the new kindergarten. Usually in such situations, an intermediary in the form of an official who manages the investment stands between the designer and the recipient. In this case, fortunately, it proceeded quite differently. Starting work on the modernization of the kindergarten, we already had certain assumptions in place, the Functional-Utility Program prepared in advance, from which it appeared that we had to superstructure the facility by one floor, and therefore make significant interferences in the structure of the building. Although the kindergarten was located in a single-story building, it was not suitable for direct superstructure - we had to shore up the foundations beforehand, and erect the additional floor using a very lightweight structure. On the part of the recipient, i.e. the director of the kindergarten, there were also some suggestions - the director had a very clear vision of what the kindergarten should look like inside. She did not want colorful teddy bears on the walls, preferring more subtle solutions. We were also leaning in this direction, so we quickly managed to find a common language. Thanks to the cooperation, everyone is satisfied with the final result.
Przemyslaw Ciępka: What are the most important changes, aside from the appearance of a new floor, in the modernized kindergarten building?
Pawel Kubacz: The kindergarten was built in the early 1980s in a modular construction of the "Żerań" type. There were several hundred or more such buildings erected in Poland. A characteristic element of this building was a structure with Brutalist overhangs in front of the front elevation, shading the kindergarten's interiors. Initially we wanted to get rid of them, but due to the modular nature of the structure they had to be left. We changed the idea slightly and now the shading is visually lighter, covered with vegetation. This created an interesting, distinctive element of the facade. We added an additional staircase to the already existing buildings, and a semi-detached to the first floor extension, which allowed us to meet fire regulations. Because of them, we also had to eliminate the skylight, which we replaced with a special membrane, located in basically the same place, only that it was one floor higher. However, the most interesting element of the interior is the slide - an idea and initiative of the kindergarten management, which we eagerly took advantage of. The result is a two-story, impressive piece of furniture that is difficult for children to say goodbye to. As parents come, so do the kids Most of those with children have experienced a situation in which their little ones do not want to part with their parents. The slide certainly helps to get rid of this fear, and often even reverses the problem, as children do not want to go home to play on the slide for a while longer.
Kindergarten No. 422 in Warsaw - Slide in the hall of the kindergarten
© materials courtesy of Kwadratura studio
Przemyslaw Ciępka: So operating in the building fabric of the 1980s was more of a constraint than a facilitator?
Paweł Kubacz: As much as possible, it was, however, a forced action in a sense, because that was the task we were given. There were many things we could not change. We had to design the superstructure while preserving the specific functional layout that was used in the first floor. Thus, the interiors are planned in the form of units consisting of a hall, toilets and checkrooms. Today, this kind of design of preschool interiors is being abandoned, but due to lack of space we had to adapt - there was nowhere to fit an additional checkroom on the first floor, so we largely repeated the layout of the first floor. The issue of the weight of the superstructure was important - due to structural constraints we made a very lightweight roof, which basically consists of high-profile trapezoidal metal sheets and insulation material directly underneath. Even though we reinforced the foundations with Jet Grouting technology, we had to be very careful not to exceed the maximum weight of the superstructure.
Przemyslaw Ciępka: What kind of spaces does the kindergarten now offer and how were the rooms in it furnished?
Pawel Kubacz: We furnished the halls with furniture in a wall-mounted formula. The cabinets can hide toys, teaching aids and other items that generate spatial chaos in the room. At the same time, we built into the furniture hiding places prepared for children, thanks to which they can take refuge in small hiding places. In accordance with the headmistress' recommendations, we have used rather soft colors - except for yellow, which is such an emblem of this kindergarten, the colors are dimmed. We placed emphasis on adapting these spaces to the perception of children, who nowadays are constantly bombarded with very intense stimuli from computer screens, smartphones or tablets. We tried to make these interiors allow children to calm down. To this end, we prepared a special therapeutic area, where there are offices of a psychologist, speech therapist and pedagogue. There is also a room designed for calming down. We have also designed two large rooms of about 100 square meters - one of them is designed for performances and organizing other events, while the other serves as a space for therapeutic activities and sensory classes.
Kindergarten No. 422 in Warsaw - Instead of a staircase, children can use a slide
© materials courtesy of Kwadratura studio
Przemyslaw Ciępka: The modernization of kindergarten No. 422 in Warsaw was recognized at this year's PLGBC Green Building Awards. What "green" solutions did you manage to apply to the building?
Paweł Kubacz: In terms of ecology - we installed ventilation with recuperation systems, carried out a comprehensive overhaul of the heat substation. We insulated the building, and at the top we installed photovoltaic panels, which provide a total of more than 20 kilowatt-hours of electricity. All this made the building consume less energy than before the modernization, despite the doubled volume. The investor couldn't believe it, we had to check all the results a second time, well they turned out to be true. This is a very big surprise, both for us and for the ordering party.
Przemysław Ciępka: It could have cost a lot to achieve such results. What was the budget for this modernization? Was the amount a significant constraint, or did you have a bit more leeway?
Pawel Kubacz: We had to be careful with the budget - the cost of the investment was 10 million zlotys, after calculating all the costs this translated into about 7 thousand zlotys per square meter of new space. It seems to me that it all came out quite economically.
Kindergarten No. 422 in Warsaw - Modernization of the Bielany kindergarten
© materials courtesy of Kwadratura studio
Przemyslaw Ciępka: Then it seems that such modernizations are within the reach of many municipalities, not just the richest ones. Apart from the building itself, has its surroundings changed?
Pawel Kubacz: We were not involved in designing the greenery or playgrounds, but we did design the parking lot in front of the kindergarten and the walkway leading to it. This caused us considerable difficulty, because we had to overcome, in accordance with the regulations, quite a large difference in the height of the terrain. We struggled a bit, but eventually we succeeded.
Przemysław Ciępka: How does the design of kindergartens today differ from the one that was in place when Kindergarten No. 422 was established in Warsaw, in the 1980s?
Pawel Kubacz: I won't answer this question directly, because I didn't have the opportunity to design in the 1980s, but it seems to me that a certain freshness that emerged in the work on our kindergarten was the constant contact we were able to establish with its director. The opportunity arose for the end user of the facility to voice his needs and expectations. Usually, in this type of investment, project management is taken over by an official who is not always well acquainted with the specifics of kindergartens. We were able to talk to people who actually know what they are doing. We are currently working on designs for the immediate surroundings for three other teaching facilities - before we got down to designing there were community consultations, discussions with parents and students. This brings a social factor into the process, the presence of which seems to me to be a fundamental difference between how we design today and how we used to work.
Przemyslaw Ciępka: We wish that as many buildings as possible were created in consultation with its target users and users. Thank you for the interview!
