Christian Dupraz Eve-Monthoux Kindergarden

Source: Afasia
Photography: Laura Keller

A lightweight modular construction for early childhood childcare, EVE-MONTHOUX responds to the call for tender launched by the town of Meyrin to address the real and urgent daycare needs for a hundred young children.

At the heart of project lie essential constraints: the speed of implementation, a multi-age pedagogy based on decompartmentalisation and openness to the outside requiring specific spatial management, both scalable and secure, and the assurance of achieving high energy performance. The submitted project, of a modular type, is based on the development of a constructive system made of carefully fashioned prefabricated wooden elements laid on a metal frame. A wide walkway, reachable from the access ramp, surrounds the childcare centre. Accessible from all living spaces, all equipped with large windows, the walkway serves as a prime sheltered outdoor extension, a playground with direct access to large grassy area and an escape route

The choices made are radical, coherent and effective, the solution offers great freedom of use, a perfect appropriation of space and a permeability of the landscape. The inner warmth articulated on a central corridor, benefiting from plenty of natural light, is a spacious area of circulation, a genuine place of life which spawns three modules of six reception rooms, specific activity spaces in addition to a professional kitchen.

General contractor: ERNE AG Holzbau, Marc Kanzenbach
Preparatory work: Rampini & Cie SA
Civil engineer: Thomas Jundt Ingénieurs Civils SA
Heating & plumbing engineer: ENERGESTION SA
Surveyor: HKD Géomatique, Genève
Security Engineer: Protectas SA