Client: EYAS International Education Group
Interior design: Kokaistudios, Filippo Gabbiani, Andrea Destefanis
Photo credits: RAWVISION studio
“As we try to teach our children everything about life, our children teach us what life means.” This sentence is on prominent display on the wall of one of the rooms of the new EYAS Kindergarten in Wuhan, embodying its pedagogical approach in a few words. The Italian architects Filippo Gabbiani and Andrea Destefanis of Kokaistudios, have been in Shanghai since 2002. They have shown that an interior can be designed to encourage a person’s natural curiosity.
This lesson applies to the world of grown-ups too. Seven elements of art – line, shape, space, form, texture, value, and color – guide the overall concept. The new rooms, together with specific spaces for dance, music, art, cooking, and technology – each with a unique design and architectural features – create the right environment to bolster the connection between students and the subject matter.
Once the light was optimized and reconfigured, the entire internal structure – the kindergarten is set inside a former sales office – was defined by a plan of completely fluid movement, featuring a large system of circular shapes. Even the hallways are replaced by social spaces shaped by rounded elements that foster socializing, turning a mere moment of passage into a place of coming together.
The little kids are welcomed by a counter with all corners rounded and a vantage point on the child level, incorporating a multicolored staircase. All colors were chosen both for their physical and psychological effect – yellow, orange, and green improve reading and number comprehension – and they suggest the colors of a set of paintings.
Of course, the furnishings also have rounded shapes, from the tables to the chairs to the extra-large lampshades and bathroom sinks. Then there are the curved walls inside the classrooms with storage for toys, clothes, blackboards, play islands, and recreational spaces. Simplified signs with visual representation engage the kids in the day’s activities.
