Page 93 - AIT0518_E-Paper

Entwurf • Design schleicher.ragaller, Stuttgart
Grundriss Erdgeschoss • Ground floor plan
Grundriss Obergeschoss • Upper floor plan
Bauherr • Client Kirchengemeinde St. Elisabeth
Standort • Location Schwabstraße 72, Stuttgart
Nutzfläche • Floor space 2.750 m 2
Fotos • Photos Zooey Braun, Stuttgart
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More infos on page 154
KINDERHAUS
IN STUTTGART
Deep inside in the west of Stuttgart, the St. Elisabeth
Children's Home was built according to plans conceived
by Domenik Schleicher and Michael Ragaller. Their new
building provides access to three heterogeneous existing
buildings and merges them into an expressive and
functional ensemble. Associatively designed interiors and
exteriors create a stimulating, child-oriented ambience.
T he new kindergarten ensemble of the St. Elisabeth community is
located deep inside a city block in one of Stuttgart's western dis-
tricts. The complex comprises three existing buildings dating from the
past century which are arranged in a T-shape and have been merged
both spatially and functionally by a new building. On two levels, the
existing buildings accommodate the various group rooms, including
the functional areas required for the respective age groups; the con-
necting new volume, on the other hand, serves as a central foyer.
With its differentiated transitions to the existing buildings, the adja-
cent multi-purpose hall on the ground floor, the wide flight of stairs
and the generously dimensioned, bridge-like gallery rooms on the
upper level, the foyer room can not only accommodate a large num-
ber of uses, but also convinces in terms of spatial quality and archi-
tecture with its diverse visual relationships and a mutli-faceted play
of colours, shapes and materials. There is no doubt that the architects
have succeeded in creating an interior space that can hardly be imag-
ined to be more exciting for a childcare facility. Domenik Schleicher
and Michael Ragaller themselves speak of the image of a small town
when they describe their design concept. The identity-creating quality
of the interiors are already evident in the façade of the new building:
A long row of porthole windows on the upper floor of the building's
longitudinal side brings back memories of a ship's hull, while the
rounded narrow side of the extension is reminiscent of a sperm
whale's mouth. Clad in wood and seemingly floating above its glass
substructure, the upper floor - especially in connection with the sur-
rounding tree population - could also be perceived as a large tree
house hat inviting its young users to play and discover. The new build-
ing is not stingy with positive associations suitable for children. The
result is a fine, small ensemble that convinces both with its exterior
and interior design and masterfully reconciles the required room pro-
gramme with the complex initial situation of a backyard location and
various existing buildings.
AIT 5.2018 • 093