One of the largest new development areas in the city is located in the north of Bonn-Beuel. On the edge of the residential area, the new four-room Rheindampfer daycare center was built on an undeveloped plot. The building, developed by rheintreuearchitekten from Cologne using elemental timber construction, is impressive not only because of the high degree of prefabrication, which significantly reduces the construction time. The building structure, which is a reflection of the internal group structure, also blends in well with the surrounding buildings, fields and meadows. 

The planning was based on a modular concept with defined room sequences, which allowed the municipal building administration to react quickly to the daycare center's needs. This became a stylistic device for the architecture of the single-storey daycare center: the group areas are lined up "back to back", as it were, in individual group houses, which form a whole with their clearly visible monopitch roofs both inside and out - similar to assembled building blocks. The rhythmically arranged gabled house structure, which is articulated to the outside by an untreated larch wood façade, reflects the grain of the surrounding single-family housing estate. 

The central element inside is a large play corridor: as a cross-connection, it provides access to the individual group and differentiation areas, but also offers sufficient space for playing together, even across groups. The group rooms are bright and friendly. The generously glazed sections and selective, playfully offset window openings allow plenty of daylight into the rooms. Suspended ceilings were deliberately avoided: The combination of gypsum plaster, wood and linoleum creates a warm, open atmosphere. The group rooms are directly adjacent to the outdoor terrace, which is partially covered. The height differences to the lower sand play areas are compensated for by playable walls or sculpted fall protection surfaces. They are equipped with wooden play equipment for different age groups. Lawns with shrubs and solitary trees form further play areas. Sustainability played an overriding role in both the energy concept and the materials: all building materials used can be separated by type and recycled. Fossil heat generators were deliberately avoided and a heat pump was used in combination with underfloor heating and a ventilation system with heat recovery.

www.rheintreue.net

Photos:

Patrik Prior

(Published in Frankfurt 01|22)