The Urban Mansion Kindergarten is located on the transition to a nature preserve at the Nanfei River near the Forest park in Hefei, China.

The projects’ objective has been to create an interactive landscape connecting the outdoor play area to the internal circulation, suitable for children to learn and play.

Curvilinear structural elements define all outdoor spaces around the first floor and leading up to the roof, giving the central lobby its unique character. The classrooms are situated in several simple, but clearly identifiable cubes, nested within the curvilinear landscape.

Deep inset windows with transitioning color schemes from blues and greens to red, yellow and orange hues relate to the different age groups and define an identifiable ‘home’ for the children for each cluster. Each ‘home’ is consciously designed to be a relative neutral interior space to enhance imagination and relief from stimulation of the outdoors and common areas.

The building is meant to be more than facilitating education, but enhance experiences of exploration, discovery and communication. Playful features, such as three ‘volcano’- skylights signify relationships from interior to exterior and contribute to spatial recognition skills