The best kindergarten you’ve ever seen | Takaharu Tezuka | TEDxKyoto

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED conferences.

At this school in Tokyo, five-year-olds cause traffic jams and windows are for Santa to climb into. Meet: the world's cutest kindergarten, designed by architect Takaharu Tezuka. In this charming talk, he walks us through a design process that really lets kids be kids.

This is a kindergarten
we designed in 2007.

We made this kindergarten
to be a circle.

It's a kind of endless circulation
on top of the roof.

If you are a parent,

you know that kids love
to keep making circles.

You know that our children
do that all the time.

This is how the rooftop looks like.

And why did we design this?

The principal of this kindergarten said,

"No, I don't want a handrail."

I said, "It's impossible."

But he insisted: "How about having a net
sticking out from the edge of the roof?

So that it can catch
the children falling off?"

(Laughter)

I said, "It's impossible."

Of course, governmental official said:

"Of course you have to have a handrail."

But we could keep
that idea around the trees.

There are three trees popping through.

And we were allowed to call
this rope as a handrail.

But of course, rope has nothing
to do with them.

They fall into the net.

And you get more,

and more,

and more.

(Laughter)

Sometimes, 40 children
are around a tree.

The boy on the branch, he loves the tree.

So, he is eating the tree.

(Laughter)

And at the time of an event,

they sit on the edge.

It looks so nice from underneath.

Monkeys in the zoo.

(Laughter)

Feeding time.

(Laughter)
(Applause)

OK.

And we made the roof as low as possible.

Because we wanted to see
children on top of the roof,

not only underneath of the roof.

If the roof is too high,
you see only the ceiling.

And leg-washing place,
there are many kinds of water taps.

You see as the tubes are flexible,

they want to spray water
to your friends, and shower.

And the one in front is quite normal

but you know, if you look at this

the boy is not washing his boots,

he's putting water into his boots.

(Laughter)

OK.

This kindergarten is completely
open, most of the year.

And there is no boundary
between inside and outside.

So, it means basically
this architecture is a roof.

And also there is no boundary
between classrooms.

So there is no acoustic barrier, at all.

This kindergarten is known

for not having almost any autistic child.

Actually there may be
some children having problems,

but they don't show symptom.

You know, when you put many children

in a quiet box,

some of them will get really nervous.

But in this kindergarten,

there is no reason they get nervous.

Because there is no boundary.

And the Principal says:

"If the boy on the corner
doesn't want to stay in the room,

we let him go.

He will come back eventually,
because it's a circle, coming back."

(Laughter)

But the point is in that kind of occasion,

usually these kind of children
try to hide somewhere.

But here, just they leave and come back.

It's a natural process.

And secondly, we consider
noise is very important.

Right? And you know that?

Children sleep better in noise.

They don't sleep in a quiet space.

And in this kindergarten,

these children show
amazing concentration in the class.

And you know that we are the kind
grown up in jungle with noise.

They need noise.

And you know, you can talk
to your friends in a noisy bar.

You are not supposed to be in silence.

And you know, these days

we are trying to make
everything under control.

You know, it's completely open.

And you should know that

we can go skiing in minus
20 degree in winter

while in summer you go for swimming.

The sand on a beach is 50 degree.

You should know that you are waterproofed.

You never get melted in rain.

So, children are supposed to be outside.

So that is how we should treat them.

This is how they divide classrooms.

They are supposed to help teachers.

They don't.

(Laughter)

I didn't put him in.

And this is a classroom.

And a washbasin.

They talk to each other around the well.

Always there are some trees
in a classroom.

A monkey trying to fish
another monkey from above.

(Laughter)

Monkeys.

(Laughter)

And each classroom has,
at least, one skylight.

And this is where Santa Claus
comes down at the time of Christmas.

This is the annex building,

right next to the oval-shape kindergarten.

The building is only five-meter tall
with seven floors.

And of course,
the ceiling height is very low.

So, you have to consider safety.

So, we put our children,
a daughter and a son.

They try to climb.

He hit his head.

He's OK. His skull is quite strong.

He is resilient. He's my son.

(Laughter)

And he is trying to see
if it is safe to jump off.

And then we put other children.

Traffic jam is awful
in Tokyo, as you know.

(Laughter)

But the driver in front,
she needs to learn how to drive too.

And these days, you know,

kids need small dosage of danger, right?

And in this kind of occasion,

they learn to help each other.

This is a society and kind of opportunity
we are losing these days.

Now, this drawing is showing
the movement of a boy

between 9:10 and 9:30.

And the circumference
of this building is 183 meters.

So it's not exactly small, at all.

And this boy made 6,000 meters
in the morning.

But the surprise is not yet to come.

The children in this kindergarten
make 4,000 meters in average.

And these children have
highest athletic abilities.

And these children have
highest athletic abilities,

amongst those in many
other kindergartens.

Principal says:

"I don't train them.
We leave them on top of the roof.

Just like sheep."

(Laughter)

They keep running.

(Laughter)

My point is don't control them,

don't protect them too much.

And they need to tumble sometimes.

They need to get some injury.

And that makes them learn

how to live in this world.

I think architecture is capable
of changing this world,

you know, people's life.

And this is one of the attempts
to change the life of children.

Thank you very much.

(Applause)