Accomplished new build for the children

The new municipal nursery offers lots of space for play internally and fits perfectly into the Wilhelminian style neighbourhood externally. The new build offers better childcare provision for the district in the form of a new purpose-built nursery.

Photo: Frank Aussieker

Making friends, playing together and getting creative while their parents are working – the youngest members of society are in the best hands in this nursery in the Linden-Nord district of Hanover, which was completed in summer 2021. There is space for a total of four nursery groups across a total floor area of some 1300 square metres. The architects from the municipality’s Building Management department have successfully completed both the interior and exterior of a new build in Walter-Ballhause-Straße. It is an energy-efficient passive house in which both the heating and the hot water are supplied from district heating. A central air-conditioning unit with heat recovery ventilates the rooms, with a portion of the energy needs coming from a photovoltaic system on the main roof.

Wooden panelling meets clinker brick facade

The solid three-storey structure is connected to the adjacent ‘play house’ by a shared entrance courtyard and porch roof, together forming a family centre. The red brick-faced main body of the new build is in keeping with the existing buildings in the street. The vertical floor-to-ceiling wooden-aluminium windows fit in perfectly with the neighbouring Wilhelminian buildings. Eye-catching wooden-panelled projecting bays contrast with and break up the clinker brick facade.

The wooden panelling is also present on the connected single-storey part of the building, which opens out onto the garden side, generously equipped with lots of play options. Here again, large windows let plenty of light inside.

Acoustic panels accentuate the warm atmosphere

The rooms in the fully accessible new build are all bright, friendly, open and child-oriented. Light wood window frames, coloured floors and a few brightly painted walls are combined with predominantly white furnishings in the corridors and recreational areas to create a relaxed and warm atmosphere. Perfectly coordinated are the light brown acoustic panels featured in the group rooms, which are used both in the recreational areas and in the washrooms.