In a park on the edge of Antwerp, a low, doughnut-shaped building stands among the trees, looking like a friendly flying saucer nestled in a clearing. On one side, the large windows of a kindergarten open on to a raised terrace where kids play with a view of all the greenery. On the other, a zig-zagging wooden canopy shelters the park’s maintenance depot, full of trailers, gardening tools and staff facilities.
It may sound like an unlikely pairing under a single roof, but it brings benefits for both. A huge panoramic picture window in the kindergarten courtyard gives the children a front-row seat for a live, Bob the Builder-ish show of pick-up trucks, diggers and lawnmowers, their floor raised for a better view. Meanwhile, daycare staff and park-keepers share a dining room and rest area, meaning the spaces are more generous than if they were built for one group alone. The architecture elevates the two, its simple materials and crisp detailing lifting the structure beyond the quality of your usual municipal park shed.
