The nursery sits within a park-like pine forest in Freimann, dotted with a handful of wind-shaped pines – trees whose growth has been sculptured by gusts over time. A farmstead once occupied this spot until its demolition in 2010; though it once lay beyond Munich's city limits, today it's nestled between an established residential district and newer developments of single- and multi-family homes. The Kieferngarten U-Bahn station is just south of the site, with the Allianz Arena lying not far to the north. Commissioned by the City of Munich, Zwischenräume – an architectural firm with deep expertise in children's facilities – brought this 111-child center to life here. The facility houses three crèche groups, two kindergarten groups, and one after-school care group across 1,400 m², caring for children from infancy through age 10. The surrounding 1,300 m² garden was masterfully composed by landscape architects Latz + Partner, featuring wooden elements and a generous sand play zone.

The architects created a striking design – one that delights the eye while meeting rigorous child-development standards. The building's form is distinctive, undulating gently along a north-south axis and accessed from the southern street frontage. Rather than excavate and risk damaging tree roots, the structure rests on a reinforced concrete slab with targeted frost protection. Its hybrid construction combines reinforced concrete load-bearing walls with prefabricated timber-frame exterior walls and latticed façade cladding. The flat roof is ballasted with gravel for wind resistance, with portions of the roof left green and others fitted with photovoltaic panels for renewable energy. The design vocabulary is clean: a soft yellow façade punctuated by evenly-spaced vertical wooden slats that create visual rhythm while framing windows and doors. The pre-weathered wooden lattice echoes the silvery tones of the surrounding pine forest.

The façade welcomes children and draws them inward. Artist Lena Bröcker developed an "art in architecture" concept centered on pine cones – revealing the precise, almost mathematical elegance of nature's design logic. Inside, spaces flow seamlessly from group and multipurpose rooms to workshops, care areas, kitchens, and administrative zones. Children's facilities demand meticulous attention to detail, especially the rigorous selection of emission-free materials throughout. The result is a beautifully realized space where young learners thrive.

www.zwischenraeume.de

Photography Credits:

Lido Meneses

(Published in CUBE Munich 01|21)