‘Welfare’ became the main interest in the politics and the society. The social trends like the progress toward the aging society and low fertility can be the reasons of it. Even though we still have a long way to go in reality, we are in the process of redefining the social goal according to the increase of social and economic competence from the direction of development and economic growth.
Trend and popularity are formed in the field of architecture and construction in accordance with the trends and indicators of social interests. In greater part, the ratio by use of the projects which small architecture offices do reflects the social issues. In case of my office, welfare facilities such as educational facilities and child care center were increased while multiplex houses and multihousehold houses were decreased noticeably over the years.
In this article, I would like to introduce the characteristics of several facilities among dozens of small welfare facilities proceeded in my office over the years. Then, I’d like to share the problems in the procedure and the design with those who are interested in.
The considerations in the site plan are different depending on the location, size and form of the site. But the relationship between the entry and outdoor playground is an important decision. It might be better for children to go inside through the building, and for the outdoor space to be composed of courtyard type or back yard type. In case of the site where the playground could be placed in front of the building facing the road, the buffer zone for the safety and the independence of play and learning should be installed between the road and the facility.
Floor configuration is one of the important choices. Considering the safety of using the stairs, one-story building is advantageous. But, in general, it is difficult to design one-story building because the size of facility is big according to the size of the site. The space configuration close to the ground is necessary for all spaces of the child care facilities, but child care rooms for 0~1 years should be placed adjacent to the director’s room and in a safe zone.
The first floor level is the conflicting part between the operational side and the architectural design. Since we should accept the concept of barrier-free, the issue of raising the first floor level to some extent needs to be solved. However, considering the landscape and view from the inside and flooding, the first floor level could be raised up, and barrier-free, ease of use, protection considerations for the design shall be determined comprehensively.
The installation of ramps and elevators for the disabled are one of the important choices of the multi-story facilities for the children. But, the concept between the children’s and the disabled’s facilities are different. They have a common point that the user is protected, but child care facilities should be always under the protection. Therefore, those ramps or elevators are not essential. Usually, the installation of them would not be easy considering the scale of the building.
The consideration of safety such as height of window and height of handrail should be reflected by the criteria of facilities and the architectural data. Merely, the pleasure and curiosity should not be abandoned because children are same people like general users who could see and feel. The design of open system is important considering the safety and the protection.
Child care center should be provided as urban facilities similar to the elderly facilities. Whether the residence type or the working place type, concentrated sources of demand are concentrated where the housing is. Therefore, the utmost using of a narrow space and space-intensive design concept would be needed. Piloti, balcony, and the utilization and access to roof space is essential.
One more thing is that children’s facilities should not be there as a stereotype. The colorful and childish form is not the characteristics of them. Functional need, urban landscape, and the space for users should be harmonized.