Today, future kindergarteners are registered on an online waiting list, and fortunately, they can now choose the kindergarten they like best based on its teaching staff and the best conditions for their children, not just based on their neighborhood.
Some parents are incredibly lucky right away – they can take their child to one of 20 unique, creative kindergartens.
1. Sjötorget Kindergarten, Stockholm, Sweden
Designed by the renowned firm Rotstein Arkitekter, this kindergarten is located on the ground floor of a new building in a prestigious area of Stockholm. The playful design, according to the creators, helps to nurture children's talents, develop creativity, and foster a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. The entrance to the kindergarten is located in the center of the building, and the rooms are filled with windows of varying sizes and shapes, providing an abundance of natural light and, of course, gentle rays of sunshine. Incidentally, it's no coincidence that the Swedes came up with this idea: the sun is a rare visitor to this northern country, so its every appearance is a true treat for the children. The abundance of windows ensures that the children won't miss it while having lunch or studying with their teachers in their classrooms.
Sjötorget Kindergarten is decorated in the most positive colors, which, according to Rotstein Arkitekter, lift spirits, have a positive effect on children's psyche, improve learning, and even promote better sleep. Just look at it: green, yellow, pink, and plenty of white space—it's impossible to look at this interior without smiling! And to ensure children can have fun here, the designers created original glass alcoves where they can read books, play hide-and-seek, or simply chat with friends, as well as numerous massive staircases and steps that they can run up and down all day long. It's completely safe. Everything here is soft and there are no sharp edges.
2. Garden by Eva Samuel Architec, Paris
In the austere urban neighborhood of Olympiades, this wonderful kindergarten looks like a bright toy or candy wrapped in festive wrappings, nestled among the impenetrable concrete blocks and glass towers. Built in the 1960s, this garden was renovated by Eva Samuel Architec, who transformed it into a true children's dream! In addition to the pleasing design, the team of architects was tasked with making the garden compact while still accommodating a swimming pool, bowling alley, and cozy rooms with natural light, a dining room, games rooms, and classrooms. They achieved this with a high score. Natural materials were used as much as possible in the interior design, including wood used for the floor, parts of the walls, and ceilings. The crimson color serves as a vibrant accent and, when combined with the wood, creates a warm and cozy atmosphere.
3. Barbapapà Kindergarten, Vignola, Italy
The kindergarten design was developed by the architectural and design firm ccd studio, which won the city tender for the construction in 2006. The kindergarten itself was built in 2009 and accommodates four classes and 60 children in total. The building is located on the outskirts of the urban development, in a picturesque hillside location near the historic center of Vignola. The welcoming green lawns of the courtyard welcome preschoolers and allow them to enjoy outdoor play. Skylights in all rooms are designed to allow sunlight to enter at different times of the day, ensuring the children always smile in the gentle rays. The roof of the kindergarten is equipped with solar panels that provide electricity for the entire building, and special rainwater collection tanks allow for its purification and reuse. The kindergarten also has its own spacious stadium for active pastimes, sports games, and competitions.
4. Kensington International Kindergarten, Bangkok, Thailand
This wonderful kindergarten, located in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, is a flawless blend of play space and architectural minimalism. Designed by Plan Architect, the garden is designed to maximize children's imagination and creativity: transparent walls, curved glass serving as thin partitions between the children's rooms and the outdoors, and the absence of any sharp corners allow children to admire the natural beauty here, which is particularly exotic. Note the meticulously designed exterior: in addition to lawns, play areas, and seating areas, there is also a demarcated roadway where children can safely race mobiles or bikes.
5. Design Kindergarten, Wonslid, Denmark
The cutting-edge Design Kindergarten, designed by CEBRA, encourages children to explore the building and its spaces daily, thereby fostering their inquisitive minds and creativity. Interestingly, parents actively participated in the design, offering their creative ideas, some of which CEBRA adopted and implemented in this project. Based on the designers' philosophy, the kindergarten should teach children through its exterior and interior alone: the process of development and learning should be continuous:
«"The use of a building should be beneficial for a child's mind, and therefore we intentionally avoided cliches and stereotypes in the implementation of the kindergarten project. Children should understand that a house should not look the way they are used to imagining it: with a triangular roof, a rectangular door, and square windows. We break stereotypes! We teach children to think creatively and outside the box! Our building has a jagged roof, there are no corners, and almost all the walls here are smooth. "THE KINDERGARTEN IS DIRECT PROOF THAT ANY HOME CAN BE AS YOU IMAGINE IT. YOU JUST HAVE TO TURN ON YOUR IMAGINATION," CEBRA EXPLAINS.
6. COBY Kindergarten, Tokyo, Japan
Designed by the trendy Japanese firm Tsushima Design Studio, COBY Kindergarten combines modern design, minimalism, and compactness, as well as multifunctionality with an emphasis on the exterior, which the designers designed to encourage children to enjoy and benefit from spending time outdoors (just look at the luxurious garden surrounding COBY Kindergarten!). Inside, all spaces are interconnected and open: children can watch their lunch or dinner being prepared even from the second floor, where the classrooms are located.
7. Kindergarten in Terenten, Italy
It's hard to imagine a more picturesque setting for a kindergarten than the mountain village of Terenten in South Tyrol, Italy! This region is a border zone, a land separating three cultures, which is visually reflected in the kindergarten's building. According to the architects at feld72, the kindergarten combines modern multifunctionality, trendy design, and some traditional motifs (the use of natural materials, finishes, and interior elements), seamlessly integrating into the impressive mountain landscape. Built on the site of a former golf course and located next to an elementary school, the two visually form a harmonious architectural ensemble. The complex is equipped with a modern gym, where children can enjoy various fitness activities, such as dance and yoga. Plenty of space for active play, a kid-friendly, warm design with bright, light-green accents, natural sunlight, creative niches and staircases, windows and steps, terraces and courtyards, and state-of-the-art classrooms—all of this makes this a kindergarten our children would truly enjoy attending!
8. 8Units Kindergarten, Velez-Rubio, Spain
The goal of this project is to develop psychomotor skills, as well as the mental and social development of each child attending the 8Units kindergarten. The Los del Desierto design bureau envisioned the kindergarten becoming a second home for the children. With this in mind, the team created a bright and compact, child-friendly single-story house with large windows, a sloping roof, round porthole windows with multi-colored glass, and a creative interior that makes children feel at home. Everything here is designed to prevent injuries during play: soft vinyl floors, rounded walls, and no sharp corners.
«"When we talk about children aged 3+, they need to frolic a lot. Color plays a very important role in early childhood. Our son used colors to solve puzzles and build sentences. Understanding this, we decided to choose the right color combination for each age," says the founder of LOSDELDESIERTO.
For one-year-olds, the rooms are blue, symbolizing relaxation, the sea, and dreams. For children aged one to two, the rooms are orange, stimulating psychomotor skills and activity. For children aged two to three, green was chosen, which is known to be the color of nature. The common areas feature a mix of colors, which is also very symbolic, as our society, and the world in general, is bright, colorful, and so diverse!
9. Kita Göttingen Kindergarten, Göttingen, Germany
This kindergarten exemplifies how to build the most energy-efficient eco-homes. Kita Kindergarten is completely self-sufficient in electricity. Its walls are designed to minimize heat loss, trapping it within while allowing fresh air to circulate freely. Its stylish, thoughtful design makes the kindergarten cozy and comfortable for children, where they happily spend time from early morning until late evening. Note: like the previous buildings, this one features large skylights, allowing sunlight to flood the building year-round.
10. Kindergarten in Jakarta, Indonesia
In Jakarta's progressive Bintaro Jaya neighborhood, lies one of the world's finest kindergartens. On a shoestring budget, Djuhara + Djuhara managed to create a truly modern, kid-friendly building with a pleasant, modern interior. Using natural materials from nearby villages, the designers made the garden as eco-friendly as possible: it features plenty of natural light, greenery, wood, open terraces for play, wicker furniture, and other interior elements crafted by artisans from small and even family-run workshops. Bright, spacious rooms, vibrant colors interspersed with the tranquility of warm wood, harmoniously arranged play areas and classrooms, a dining room, and bedrooms—all this makes the kindergarten welcoming and one you won't have to bring your child to with tears in your eyes and cries of "I don't want that!".
11. Ecole Maternelle Pajol, Paris, France
The creators of this rainbow-colored children's area decided that the kindergarten's appearance should match the child's mood—bright, cheerful, and radiating optimism. After all, even childhood dreams are colorful!
«"We love color, especially when it's used to brighten and enhance a drab and dull environment," say the creators of the rainbow garden. "And this kindergarten certainly speaks the language of joyful colors. We love it when public art, public buildings, and spaces are used for play and expressions of joy, not just for displaying 'acceptable' art and architecture. And shouldn't a kindergarten reflect the mood of children, not adults?".
You understand that the education at this kindergarten isn't shrouded in adult standards. The best is for the children!
12. Fuji Kindergarten, Tokyo, Japan
This kindergarten could arguably be called the most environmentally friendly. This is because it (or rather, one of the buildings) was built around a tree! The ring around the tree, according to the designers, activates the energy of nature, which is very similar in its charge to a vibrant and lush nursery. The design is chosen so that young kindergarteners are open to exploring the world, which unfolds before them in 360 degrees.
13. Taka-Tuka-Land, Berlin, Germany
The creators of Berlin's Taka-Tuka-Land kindergarten took one truth to heart: all children need to be active to develop properly. They rush around at breakneck speed—and it's precisely in this high-speed environment that they best absorb the world's wisdom. So, there's no need to restrain them or insure them against falls and injuries. It's better to create conditions that allow these "perpetual motion machines" to move around without fear. Said and done: the result is that Taka-Tuka-Land has virtually no hard surfaces. Well, maybe the floors and corners of the rooms.
Incidentally, the kindergarten's name comes from the ideal land for children, Taka-Tuka, from the fairy tale about Pippi Longstocking. The entrance to the kindergarten is designed as a giant hut, with many more huts and trampolines inside. And what about the wall bars! They're not nailed to the walls, but rather assembled into entire towns of ladders, arches, and swings.
14. Kekec Kindergarden, Ljubljana, Slovenia
The architects of this kindergarten openly believe that the most important space in a garden is the playground. They should be spacious, for one thing, and there should be plenty of them, for another.
Now, even the façade of this unusual garden in Ljubljana is a playful element in itself. On one side, the boards covering the glass façade are painted bright colors, while on the other, the wooden surface remains natural. What's the trick?
On the one hand, it creates shade, on the other, children play with the shutters, learn colors, and can change the «appearance» of their kindergarten themselves.
15. Segrt Hlapic, Zagreb, Croatia
Why create a complex structure for children to walk and wander through the corridors?
The architects at Radionica Arhitekture, who designed the Zagreb kindergarten of their dreams, took a risk and built a simple, elongated building, where each group of children has access to a huge, spacious space—a bedroom, a playroom, and a classroom. All inclusive!
16. Fagerborg Kindergarten, Oslo, Norway
Norwegians—both children and adults—abide by the Law of Jante, which states that everyone is equal and should not stand out in a team. This explains the democratic and eco-friendly design, with its very positive "content" and interiors made of natural wood.
And to keep the kids—they're kids!—from getting bored, the wooden facades are interspersed with bright, cheerful accents in the most unexpected places.
17. Kindergarten 70°N arkitektur as, Tromsø, Norway
Another Norwegian "unique" is that the walls of the rooms have holes of various sizes, many of which children can easily crawl through.
Educators can also squeeze through them - this makes it much easier to keep an eye on the little "shilovpops" and keep an eye on everyone at once.
Moreover, some internal walls can be moved, that is, the space can be changed to suit your needs.
18. Aadharshila Vatika, New Delhi, India
In India, children are always smiling, so the designers of the capital's children's center decided to reflect in their project the importance of optimism and fun in the development of young inquisitive children, who need to learn how to navigate.
To this end, they created a unique atmosphere filled with vibrant colors and unique furniture, as well as elements that help better understand the vastness and diversity of the world. Graphic signs, rail tracks, and raised-dot Braille were placed on the floors and walls inside and outside the building.
19. Loop Kindergarten, Tianjin, China
In the most densely populated country in the world, there is a kindergarten created in the shape of a… «donut».
It has rounded edges, a roof with green grass, lots of windows and splashes of bright colors that create the illusion of movement for fidgets, thereby helping to develop their imagination.
20. Kindergarten Wolfartsweier, Karsruhe, Germany
Our beloved kindergarten, shaped like a cat, seems poised to pounce. In the morning, children enter the "mouth" on a red carpet-like tongue, like obedient mice. Inside the cat's "paws" are play areas, and in its "belly" are a changing room, a classroom, a kitchen, a dining room, and a staircase.
The second floor is the "head," where a hall is located, where light penetrates through the eye-socket windows during the day, and real grass grows on the roof—the cat's "fur.".