MAD's first work in Japan, Clover House, broke ground on May 13 in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture.

Clover House is a kindergarten that feels like home. Due to the shortage of land, the operator of the kindergarten decided to renovate his own residence and expand the original private nursery into a children's education institution. Different from traditional kindergartens, this is a shelter between public early childhood education institutions and residences. It adopts a fully open teaching method. During the day, children and teachers eat, study, discuss, take a lunch break, and play games just like at home. At night, this is where the operator's family and teachers live. In the environment of a big family, the children build up emotions and trust.

The transformation started with how to deal with this 105-square-meter two-story small house. Like the surrounding houses, the original building was a prefabricated finished product purchased from a housing construction company and was a full-wood structure. After investigating the actual situation, MAD decided to retain and utilize the main wooden structure of the house, making it part of the new building structure. The retained pitched roof wooden frame not only creates an interesting interior space, but also serves as a memorial to the home for the owner of the house, the operator of the kindergarten.

The new house is like a piece of cloth, wrapping the old wooden structure of the house and forming a new chaotic space. For the children, the original wooden structure seems to record the tradition and story of the Clover House. For daily use, this wooden structure is also the main learning space for the children. It is both transparent and enclosed, and can flexibly adapt to different teaching contents. The sunlight coming in from the windows around it brings it ever-changing light and shadow, chasing the children's curious and innocent imagination.

Located beside a rice field, the Clover House is like a magical cave and a temporary tent. Compared with the original industrialized standard housing system, this new three-dimensional wooden structure is organic and delicate. The exterior wall and roof are made of a flexible waterproof material most commonly used in local roofs. After CNC block slicing, it wraps the entire building like a piece of white paper. After completion, each piece of white paper becomes a space for children to create, allowing the memory of the four-leaf clover to continue.

四叶草之家将于2015年12月份竣工。

Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Type: Kindergarten, Residential
Status: Under construction
Site area: 283.28 square meters
Building area: 133.76 square meters
Total building area: 299.63 square meters

Leading designers: Ma Yansong, Hayano Yosuke, Dang Qun
Design team: Lee Yo-hwan, Yonezu Kosuke, Fujino Daiki, Julian Sattler, Davide Signorato

Owner: Nara Kentaro, Nara Tamaki
Constructor: Kira Construction INC
Structural engineer: Nagai Takuo