The five classrooms in this 110-student kindergarten are grouped around a central green playground; one end of the central area is a waiting area for parents, and the other end is a winter garden. Since zoning restrictions allowed only one storey above ground, the multi-functional and rehearsal rooms, a laboratory, the kitchen and dining hall, and administrative offices are located below ground and partially lighted from the winter garden. Inspired by the forms of origami, the architecture is a concrete frame and glass-reinforced-concrete panels; steel is used for the complex geometry of the roof which is planted with greenery. The trapezoidal skylights in each classroom contain south-facing photo-voltaic panels that provide 35% of the kindergarten’s energy needs.
Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture
