Terre des Enfants, Crèche, Rouen (France)

The edifice regroups several services dedicated to early childhood, providing an environment for the children’s first social interactions and a starting point for the long path of education.

This is represented in the building’s form and organisation: a ribbon, open at both ends, beckoning the public to enter while cradling the classrooms within.

The classrooms give onto internal courtyards and play areas, providing a sequence of colourful but introverted spaces. This is not to say that the project turns itself on the town, indeed quite the opposite. The generous entry and triumphant first floor window lend a very public nature to the building while providing a visual link between the town and the spaces within.