Photography: Shai Epstein

Community
First

Type

Educational Facility

Size

115 sqm

Location

Jerusalem, IL

An article about this award winning kindergarten was published in Mako – N12 magazine. Press here to read the article.

Every project tells a story and the story behind this project is such a beautiful inspiration!

The project was planned for the Unique Kindergarten Program, which is a program aimed at designing kindergartens innovatively so that they answer the needs of children in the 21st century. Consultants for the Community First project included The Institute for Democratic Education.

The Kindergarten teacher wanted the design to encourage social skills by connecting to the community in three different layers: cities, the local community, and the national and international community.

 

The educational agenda was “loving people whomever they are,” and teaching children that they can change the world and influence the lives of other children.

The innovative design nurtures skills that children in the 21st century require, and is composed of four areas:

  1. Play and meet – a modular three-dimensional design tjat encourages community encounters in three layers.
  2. Quiet soft area – for relaxation
  3. Maker space – encouraging children to make, learn and express themselves, and providing a gallery to exhibit their work.
  4. Learning and exploring space – learning in an informal way, in small groups.

We sold candles in order to raise money for blind children and while doing that we learned math.” “I was thinking of some kind of soft meeting area