{"id":6694,"date":"2019-07-17T13:28:33","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T05:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.you.co\/en-SG\/?p=6694"},"modified":"2019-07-17T13:28:35","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T05:28:35","slug":"worlds-best-kindergarten-a-look-into-fuji-kindergarten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.you.co\/sg\/blog\/worlds-best-kindergarten-a-look-into-fuji-kindergarten\/","title":{"rendered":"World’s Best Kindergarten: A Look into Fuji Kindergarten"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Step into Fuji Kindergarten in Tokyo, the best kindergarten in the world brought to life by multi-award winning architect and TED speaker Takaharu Tezuka!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Japanese architect Takaharu Tezuka and his wife, Yui Tezuka, had a common vision \u2013 let children be children. Inspired by their own kids, they believe that children should not be forced to learn in an enclosed environment, as that could deter their natural will to learn. Instead, children should be allowed to run and play freely without being overly-protected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fuji
Photo by: TED Ideas<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What’s unique about Fuji Kindergarten? <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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In 2007, the renowned architect brought his architectural masterpiece to life: Fuji Kindergarten, a kindergarten with unique open concept and novel features unlike other run-of-the-mill preschools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuji Kindergarten spent its next few years bagging numerous domestic and international awards for its innovative design. Even after a decade, Fuji Kindergarten continues to receive global recognition as the best kindergarten in the world \u2013 it was recently awarded the 2017 Moriyama RAIC International Prize by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. Endless Fun at the Rooftop Deck<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\"Fuji
Photo by: Tezuka Architects<\/span><\/a> <\/span>\/ Photographer: Katsuhisa Kida \/ FOTOTECA <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The main feature of Fuji Kindergarten \u2013 an oval-shaped rooftop deck \u2013\u00a0 was Tezuka’s intention to allow children to run and play endlessly in the fresh outdoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. Mud and Slides<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\"Fuji
Photo by: <\/span>TED Ideas<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Instead of conventional staircases, Fuji Kindergarten utilises slides for children to get to class from the roof top deck. The children can first climb onto the mud mound and get their hands dirty (Tezuka strongly encourages that), before climbing the stairs to the rooftop deck and sliding into class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. Little Monkeys Dangling<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\"Fuji
Photo by: <\/span>TED Ideas<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Vertical handrails with wide gaps are definitely a safety hazard, so Tezuka designed vertical handrails with gaps just about the right size for children to put their legs through and swing them around. He thinks it’s a natural instinct for children to do that \u2013 just like adorable “little monkeys”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. Embracing Trees<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\"Fuji
Photo by: Tezuka Architects<\/span><\/a> <\/span>\/ Photographer: Katsuhisa Kida \/ FOTOTECA <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Instead of cutting down trees, Tezuka designed Fuji Kindergarten to integrate the surrounding trees. Safety nets are also installed to prevent children from falling into the holes around the trees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tezuka knows children love to play and bounce on nets and hammocks, so this was an opportunity for another mode of play time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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5. Skylights for Curious Peekers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\"Fuji
Photo by: TED Ideas<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Children are naturally curious. In Fuji Kindergarten, there are skylights above classrooms to allow children to peek into what’s going on in different classes. Distraction is not a worry here, because according to Tezuka, that’s exactly what’s supposed to happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, there’s also no walls in the classrooms, so children won’t feel like they are enclosed and forced to learn within a tiny space. This reiterates his philosophy that children possess the natural instinct to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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6. Water Cooler Catch-Ups <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\"Fuji
Photo by: TED Ideas<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As technology advances, children begin to spend more time on smart phones and tablets. In order to encourage face-to-face interaction, Tezuka introduced a water cooler in the middle of classrooms so children can gather around it and talk to each other \u2013 just like Japanese women used to in the olden days when they gathered water around the well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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7. Kiri Wood Furniture<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\"Fuji
Photo by: Tezuka Architects<\/span><\/a> <\/span>\/ Photographer: Katsuhisa Kida \/ FOTOTECA <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of the key lessons Tezuka wants to incorporate into his design is that children shouldn’t be too sheltered. It’s alright for them to fall down and learn to get back up again! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Fuji Kindergarten, classrooms are furnished with wooden boxes which the children can sit and play with. It’s made from paulownia, also known as kiri wood. The wood is very light, so children won’t injure themselves even if they play rough or bump their heads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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8. Ring Around The Tree<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\"Fuji
Photo by: <\/em>Erazvitie<\/span><\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If the mud mounds and slides get boring, children can also climb on trees at Fuji Kindergarten. The trees serve to encourage children to challenge themselves to become stronger and reach the upper decks without using the stairs. At Fuji Kindergarten, academics are not the only priority \u2013 building a child’s character and mental strength is important too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Architect Behind Fuji Kindergarten<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\"Takaharu
Photo by: <\/em>SUCCESSness<\/span><\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the multi-award winning Fuji Kindergarten and Tezuka’s numerous awards for other architectural works, he also conveys his strong vision of harmony between nature and people throughout his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Asahi
Photo by: Tezuka Architects<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of the most notable things Tezuka has done was to help reconstruct Asahi Kindergarten in Miyagi, which was struck by the deadly tsunami in 2011. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bringing the kindergarten back to life with timber trees that have been uprooted by the waves, the entire kindergarten was rebuilt using traditional methods without any use of metal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Asahi
Photo by: Tezuka Architects<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“The timber will be saying to the children, ‘In 2011, I was killed by the water but in 2411, be careful and come to me’,” Tezuka says in regards to Asahi Kindergarten, which has been given a new lease of life thanks to Tezuka and his belief in changing the world by embracing nature and architecture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I think architecture is capable of changing this world, and people’s lives. And this is one of the attempts to change the lives of children,” says Tezuka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Unfortunately, the world’s best kindergarten is generally not open to the public, but you can still immerse yourself through Tezuka’s humorous commentary about Fuji Kindergarten<\/span><\/a> in his TED talk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, if you’re headed for Japan, remember to bring your YouTrip card<\/span><\/a> along to enjoy Wholesale Exchange Rates<\/span><\/a> with no fees!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read:\u00a0How I Lost $9,000 in Tokyo, Japan<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read:\u00a0<\/strong>11 Rare Passport Stamps You May Never Get<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read:\u00a0Travel Bucket List: 11 Surreal Destinations You Must Visit<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read:\u00a0Muji Hotel All You Need to Know: 9 Room Types, Prices and More<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read:\u00a0What Can (and Can\u2019t) I Take from Hotel Rooms?<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enjoy a worldwide fees-less travel experience!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"YouTrip<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How would you imagine the world’s best kindergarten to look like?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":7058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[623],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.you.co\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.you.co\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.you.co\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.you.co\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.you.co\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.you.co\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.you.co\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.you.co\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.you.co\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.you.co\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}