The structure is enveloped by a louvered facade of weathering steel. Photo © Iwan Baan

Berlin-based Francis Kéré has completed a kinderoase, or daycare center, at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Designed for the children of staff at TUM—where Kéré has been a professor since 2017—it is the first permanent building in Europe by the 2022 Pritzker Prize winner.

The 16,500-square-foot building consists of five stories, at the heart of which is a vertical playground. It was designed to accommodate up to 60 children, grouped by age. Each age group occupies its own floor, and the middle and upper levels hold communal areas for play, sports, and meals, including a multipurpose sports room. At the very top, a partially covered roof terrace called the himmelswiese, or sky meadow, gives the children a sheltered place in the densely built urban environment to run, be outside, and look out across the city.

Within the vertical playground, slides connect the floors, making movement to a level below an invitation to play. This area also serves as an acoustic buffer that shields the quieter rooms behind it from street noise.

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Each age group occupies its own floor (1), which are connected by a skylit vertical playground (2). Photos © Iwan Baan

The timber structure was developed in close collaboration with Austrian timber specialists Hermann Kaufmann + Partner (HK Architekten). The building, which began construction in April 2024, is realized almost entirely in wood, with the exception of the southern emergency staircase and foundation. A louvered facade is made from weathering steel. Energy efficiency, thermal comfort, fire safety, and acoustics were central to the concept throughout.

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A rooftop terrace provides open-air playspace (3). Francis Kéré tests a slide; they run between each level. Photos © Iwan Baan

Kéré’s very first projects in his home country of Burkina Faso were designed for schoolchildren. “Now I am building for the very youngest,” said Kéré in a statement. “It is a beautiful responsibility. We designed the kinderoase entirely from the perspective of the children who will use it. We created a vertical playground where they can run, climb, and slide from one floor to another. My hope is that this building will make children curious, and encourage them to play, invent games, and do things together.”

Section drawing; all images courtesy Kéré Architecture; click to enlarge

Ground-level floor plan

Ground floor axonometric drawing

Furniture catalogue