Looking at a different class of preschool locations

Chitra Kumar Channel NewsAsia 14 Sep 14;

SINGAPORE: What if kindergarten lessons are conducted in a tree-house near the expressways? That could be possible in a preschool of the future, says Lien Foundation and Singapore-based architecture firm Lekker Architects.

“A Different Class: Preschool Spaces Redefined”, a project commissioned by Lien Foundation, looks at unusual and underused spots in land-scarce Singapore where preschools could potentially be located. Lekker Architects has identified 10 types of locations.

The project looks at converting under-utilised spaces at Lower Seletar Reservoir into a preschool, where classrooms are built on a floating platform, allowing children to have a better awareness of the river life.

The purpose is to integrate the outdoor and indoor environment to help with a child's learning.

Lee Poh Wah, CEO of Lien Foundation, says: "Imagine if you are in a preschool environment that is beautiful, soothing, full of wonder and discovery… You are eager to live, learn and work in that place.

“In my opinion, I find that preschool spaces in Singapore don't make the grade. Why are all our boisterous children in all these cramped, cluttered, cookie-cutter preschools that are devoid of nature itself? So 'A Different Class' is a bold exercise to envision the future of preschools spaces."

The project also urges policy-makers to think more creatively when considering new locations.

Building a preschool on a rooftop of a multi-storey car park in HDB estates may not be the norm, but the architects say it is safe.

Ong Ker-shing, director of Lekker Architects, says: "You might look at some of the schools, like the schools on top of the HDB car parks and say, ‘you are putting kids so high up in the air, and it doesn't look like there are any fences’.

“Well, there are fences. But we designed it in a way where there are methods of keeping the kids away from the edge, but they are not visible. Instead of putting up a giant barrier, and making it very obvious that there is a giant barrier, we thought about it in something very beautiful - we hide it behind greenery."

The Early Childhood Development Agency has described the project as "a useful contribution in providing design ideas for pre-school development in unique spaces”, and that it has been "working with various agencies to explore and incorporate innovative design features”.

- CNA/xq