2018
Tokyo (Japan)
“hiragana” is the simplest written character children first learn out of the three written sets in Japanese. In total, there are 46 hiraganas.
The Tree of Hiragana Nursery School, having occupancy of 60 students, is located near the foot of the Tokyo Sky Tree. Emmanuelle, responsible for the design of the façade and the interior, calls the school “Tree of Hiragana kindergarten”. The idea is to have the children engage with the hiraganas and the colors to make the school an ever growing environment.
On the façade, there are 46 different colors corresponding with the 46 different hiraganas scattered in reach of the children. The randomly placed hiraganas float to create a form of a tree. The sun casts a shadow onto the hiraganas, allowing the characteristics of the atmosphere to change throughout the day. In the first floor of the nursery school, there is a three dimensional tree which spans across the whole floor. On the second floor, the hiraganas are suspended on a mobile structure to add movement. The idea is to show the flow of the hiragana from the first to the second floor. The stairs of the nursery school is lined with the hiragana chart, so children can play and follow the chart on their way to the next floor.
The first sight of the Tokyo cityscape Emmanuelle saw was filled with the Japanese characters and appeared as a beautiful picture. For the children who are too young to read, it must be a magical moment to see these colorful hiraganas float above their heads. This school was designed in hope that the children will enjoy this moment in life where the hiraganas share the cityscape with Tokyo and grow up in a wonderful childhood.