Since 2008, SOS Children's Village has served the southernmost district of Düsseldorf. What began modestly—a neighbourhood hub offering childcare and event space—gradually expanded across multiple locations. A 2016 design competition sought to consolidate these scattered operations at a unified site near Garath's centre, strategically positioned on Frankfurter Strasse. The winning design by Kresings Architects achieves precisely what was envisioned: a children's village that opens generously to the surrounding community and fosters genuine participation.

Five two-storey buildings form the ensemble, distributed across two plots on either side of Matthias-Erzberger-Strasse. This arrangement creates dual orientations: northward toward the city, and southward toward Garath Castle's park and the tree-lined Schlossallee. Three new structures—the educational centre, daycare facility, and multi-generational house—face south, arranged around a central plaza anchored by a mature oak tree. The effect is strikingly village-like in character. Connected by upper-level bridges, with the daycare accessed via a planted stairway, these buildings showcase remarkable transparency. Both the two-storey daycare group rooms and the centre's project spaces, along with the neighbourhood café, all orient toward Schlossallee, where a generous public play area extends the invitation to gather.

Vertical wooden cladding wraps each building, its natural timber slats functioning as a unifying skin. Rounded corners guide visitors intuitively toward the plaza and into the buildings themselves. The public spaces command attention through extensive glazing and floor-to-ceiling windows, fostering a seamless interior-exterior dialogue—particularly at street level—that embodies the desired openness. Across the street to the northwest, two additional buildings house the more intimate residential and family spaces, thoughtfully arranged around a shared, landscaped courtyard.

www.kresings.com

Photography Credits:

Nils Koenning
www.nilskoenning.com

(Published in CUBE Düsseldorf 03|22)