Bambi Nursery
Córdoba ES
Plan 9
2011
Type
Nursery Home
Tags
mountain, spaces of care , playgrounds
Visitability
Visible from the street
Description
The project originated from the promoter’s need to move the Bambi nursery school, a benchmark in Córdoba for 35 years, to a new location.The new plot is part of the El Patriarca housing development, in the residential area of the Córdoba mountain range. Córdoba City Council chose to transfer a plot of land for educational facilities that met the requirements, such as proximity to the old quarter (an essential condition for maintaining the educational agreement with the Regional Government of Andalusia) and the surface area of the plot.The site is free-standing, rectangular in shape, and overlooks three streets and a green landscaped area. This posed certain limitations when it came to fitting the project in. The first was the topography, as there was a significant 7-metre difference in level between Mejorana and Aulaga streets. The second was the obligation to respect the existing holm oaks.What at first seemed like difficulties became allies, shaping the final idea. The topography of the plot made it possible for the two floors of the building to be accessible from the public road, creating play areas by educational levels for the classrooms of each cycle. Respecting the holm oaks helped to achieve a more flexible and integrated floor plan solution with these existing elements, making them part of the design.The final building consisted of two V-shaped sections, arranged through open galleries. The idea was to escape from the usual typology of an educational centre in terms of its operation, pursuing the spirit and atmosphere of the old centre, in which the classrooms were directly connected with the open areas. It boasts two separate entrances: one for dropping off and picking up the pupils on the ground floor, created at the confluence of the two sections, and another entrance to the administrative area from Calle Cantueso, on the upper floor.The first section, located at the western end of the site, houses the morning classroom, the dining room (divided by a movable partition which enables this space to be used as a multi-purpose room), the kitchen and the changing rooms on the ground floor. The upper floor houses the administrative and teaching staff area, which has been generously sized in anticipation of the centre’s extension.The second section houses the classrooms. On the ground floor are the classrooms for the first cycle of the nursery school (0-3 years), whose functioning must be very flexible due to the differences in the development of the children. This was addressed with special attention, and resolved by using the ancillary areas as a link between the different classrooms For 1-2 year olds, who can nap in a cot or on a mattress, the cot area was placed between the 0-1 and 1-2 year old classrooms. For 2-3 year olds, who still use nappies or are not toilet trained, the changing and toileting area is located between the 1 to 2 year old and 2 to 3 year old classrooms. These classrooms have direct access to a covered porch and an enclosed outdoor play area.The upper floor of this section houses the second cycle of the nursery school (0-3 years), with three separate classrooms, each with a separate toilet. In addition to an internal staircase, these classrooms can be accessed via an external ramp, making the centre more accessible to the general public. The aim was to avoid the image of a traditional centre, both in terms of design language and at a functional and constructive level. Formally, the building was intended to imitate the silhouette of the Córdoba mountain range by means of an irregular roof design. In contrast, a colour pattern was used for the façade. These warm colours, ranging from white through yellow to orange, are designed to promote learning, attention and relaxation for pupils, according to chromotherapy. This pattern gradually turns into shades of blue in the administrative area.( Description provided by the architects )