Nursery School under Elevated Railway in Machiya/
Takahiro Akiyama Architects
Atelier HMC
Project Details
Location(City/Country):
Tokyo / JapanTipology:
EducationalYear (Design/Construction):
- / 2018Area (Net/Gross):
460.46 m2 / 737.79 m2Operational Carbon emissions (B6) kgCO2e/m2/y:
-Embodied Carbon emissions (A1-A3) kgCO2e/m2:
-- The nursery school is built in a vacant space under an elevated railway in Tokyo
- The playground is a semi-outdoor space created by overlapping the elevated structure and the architecture
- The elevated bridge serves as the primary “roof” to protect the playground from strong sunlight.
The nursery school is located under the elevated railway in Machiya, downtown Tokyo. The project is an initiative to solve the shortage of nursery schools by using spaces under elevated railways. This is because there is a shortage of nursery schools in urban areas in Japan, but there are no sites on which to build them.
The elevated railway was built in 1931. Shops and houses were built under the elevated railway, forming a downtown landscape where life overflowed into the streets, but they were evicted to make way for seismic reinforcement of the elevated structure. After seismic reinforcement, the site remained vacant for a long time but has begun to be re-used, starting with plans for the nursery school.
In recent years, nursery schools have become closed off from the town, and the children and the people of the town have become distant from each other. We wanted to create a nursery school that is open to the town, where people can enjoy watching the children grow. The old elevated railway crossing the town is low, with a clearance height of about 3.9 meters under the girders and short spans of about 6 meters, giving it a massive appearance. To harmonize the scale of the civil engineering structure with that of the nursery school, we constructed a large 67-meter-long roof. The horizontally extending roof creates a façade of the nursery school facing the city. On the inside, the roof is superimposed on the elevated railway structure, creating a soft and sheltered nursery space protected from the noise and commotion of the nearby train station.
The nursery rooms are arranged in three clusters under a large roof, with a playground and sandpit between them. Each room is connected by a semi-outdoor space under the eaves, which run along the street. Along this 39-meter-long axis are washing areas, play equipment, bicycle parking, and an entrance porch between each elevated pillar. The nursery’s activities appear in the town, making it visible and lively.
The playground has become a unique semi-outdoor space created by overlapping the elevated structure and the architecture. The urban climate in summer is becoming increasingly severe due to the heat island effect, making outdoor activities for children difficult. The elevated structure serves as the primary “roof” to protect the playground from strong sunlight. The architecture’s roof shields people from the rain and acts as a light shelf, illuminating the playground with reflected light. The darkness inherent under the elevated structure is lifted, making the playground more usable in the summer when the elevated ceiling is brightly lit.
The nursery school was connected to the town through deep eaves. The sense of security created by the eaves made the place boldly open to the town yet protected. Many people in the town enjoy the seasonal flowers and plants planted along the nursery school. The nursery school was created at a downtown-like distance, where walking along the street gives a glimpse of the nursery’s daily life like a picture scroll, and communication naturally takes place.
- Structural engineer: TECTONICA
- Mechanical engineer: KANKYO ENGINEERING INC.
- Garden designer: Onshitsu
- Textile Designer: Yuki Tsutsumi / NUNO
- Constructor: Tsukamoto Kensetsu Co.Ltd(Building work)、Amix Co.Ltd(Interior work)
- Photography: Atsushi Ishida, Takahiro Akiyama Architects