Play area: MAD’s Japanese kindergarten merges old and new

Childcare architecture often aims to emulate warm, homely environments for its precious little guests. In the case of a new kindergarten in Japan, things have gotten even more literal. The Clover House nursery used to be a two-storey house, nestled in a quiet residential street in the small town of Okazaki; now, it has been dynamically transformed into its current use by Chinese architecture firm MAD.
'I think it's important to create a homely atmosphere inside this kindergarten, so instead of building a brand new building, we decide to keep the old wooden structure as the memory and the soul of the space, and work around it,' says MAD founder Ma Yansong. Aiming to create a nurturing and inspiring environment for young‘uns, the house’s owners commissioned the architects to lead their dream project, redesigning their own home into a kindergarten.
Keeping costs to a minimum, MAD decided to recycle the building’s existing wooden structure – which was originally made in a standard prefabricated frame – and use it where possible in the new design. The result? A visible three-dimensional timber skeleton that outlines areas within, in a space that gently combines old and new.
The interior is playful and fresh, with light flooding in from several windows of different shapes and sizes, punctured into the façade. The house’s traditional pitched roof was also maintained, but everything was wrapped in a new skin, blurring the boundaries between what’s new and what pre-existed.
Adding an extra dollop of playfulness, the space comes complete with a slide leading from the second floor down to the outdoor play area and the building’s front courtyard.
An existing structure was transformed from its previous residential use into a kindergarten. Photography: Fuji Koji
The architects reused the existing house's original timber structure in an effort to maintain a relationship between old and new, and in order to keep costs down. Photography: Fuji Koji
The three-dimensional timber frame outlines different areas in the nursery, adding warmth to the interiors. Photography: Fuji Koji
'I think it's important to create a homely atmosphere inside this kindergarten, so instead of building a brand new building, we decide to keep the old wooden structure as the memory and the soul of the space, and work around it,' says Yansong. Photography: Fuji Koji
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the MAD website
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
A new Athens gallery is a celebration of old and new, a stone's throw from the Acropolis
New Athens gallery Melas Martinos by Local Local is a contemporary art space, a stone's throw from the Acropolis, in the Greek capital's Monastiraki neighbourhood
-
Haute Couture Week A/W 2025: live updates from the Wallpaper* team
From 7-9 July, Haute Couture Week A/W 2025 arrives in Paris. Follow along for a first look at the shows, presentations and other fashion happenings, as seen by the Wallpaper* editors
-
Boundaries between art and life dissolve in Katherine Hubbard's intimate documentation of her mother's illness
In 'The Great Room', Katherine Hubbard merges caregiving for her mother with an unflinching documentary of the process
-
Mayumi Miyawaki’s Fukumura Cottage puts this lesser-known Japanese modernist in the spotlight
Discover the little-known modernist architect through this private home in Japan’s Tochigi prefecture countryside
-
A Karuizawa house is a soothing, work-from-home retreat in Japan
Takeshi Hirobe Architects play with scale and space, creating a tranquil residence in which to live and work
-
Naoshima New Museum of Art is a home for Asian art, and a lasting legacy, in Seto Inland Sea
The Naoshima New Museum of Art opens, marking a seminal addition to the Japanese island's renowned Benesse Art Site Naoshima; we explore Tadao Ando's design
-
Ma Yansong's latest project is anchored by a gleaming stainless steel 'tornado'
The new Fenix museum in Rotterdam, devoted to migration, marks MAD's first European cultural project.
-
Behind a contemporary veil, this Kyoto house has tradition at its core
Designed by Apollo Architects & Associates, a Kyoto house in Uji City is split into a series of courtyards, adding a sense of wellbeing to its residential environment
-
Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa on harmony, nature and their RIBA gong
The SANAA duo are celebrating their RIBA Royal Gold Medal 2025 in London today, and talked to us about self-reflection, the year ahead, and the need to create harmony in our environment
-
New book 'I-IN' brings together Japanese heritage and minimalist architecture at its finest
Japanese architecture studio I-IN flaunts its expert command of 21st-century minimalism in a new book by Frame Publishers
-
Giant rings! Timber futurism! It’s the Osaka Expo 2025
The Osaka Expo 2025 opens its microcosm of experimental architecture, futuristic innovations and optimistic spirit; welcome to our pick of the global event’s design trends and highlights