Oostakker Nursery School

Five classrooms at a three-year-old's scale, with a covered veranda that doubles the usable floor.

Category Schools
Location Oostakker
Year 2017
Client Ghent School Board
Role Architect, full commission
Status Handed over
Oostakker 01

Everything in this building is set out for a person a meter tall: coat hooks at 900, windows with a sill at 450, door handles a child can reach without a grown-up. The five classrooms open onto a veranda deep enough to paint and eat under, which the teachers use on about 180 days a year. The council's brief was for four classrooms; we found the fifth by moving the staff room upstairs and giving the ground floor entirely to the children.