MAD chose to demolish the ancient courtyard outside the original courtyard and build a new space in its place, which "holds" the courtyard in its palm, faces the courtyard and is connected to it. The new space unfolds in a low and gentle posture, surrounding the courtyard. The strict layout order of the courtyard forms a sharp contrast and echo with the flow of the new space. The two come from different time dimensions, and the new does not cover the old, and the ancient does not surpass the present. The mutual tension gives the building new vitality.

In 2017, Lecheng Group commissioned MAD Architects to design a kindergarten next to a retirement community in Beijing, focusing on the "intergenerational integration" layout of "one old and one young". The project covers an area of ​​9,275 square meters. On the original site, there was a three-entry courtyard, a simulated courtyard built in the 1990s, and a modern four-story building. At the end of 2019, the kindergarten was completed and can accommodate 390 children aged 1.5 to 6 years old.

“我回想小时候上的幼儿园，和后面看到的幼儿园，都在想孩子们最心心念念的是什么。”马岩松说，“我想是自由与大爱。幼儿园不一定要在硬件上有多大的给予性，但必须让孩子们感受到自由与爱——它们让孩子们的发展有无限的可能性。”

MAD chose to demolish the ancient courtyard outside the original courtyard and build a new space in its place, which "holds" the courtyard in its palm, faces the courtyard and is connected to it. The new space unfolds in a low and gentle posture, surrounding the courtyard. The strict layout order of the courtyard forms a sharp contrast and echo with the flow of the new space. The two come from different time dimensions, and the new does not cover the old, and the ancient does not surpass the present. The mutual tension gives the building new vitality.

What integrates the originally unrelated sites into one is the newly built "floating roof". This second-floor outdoor platform makes people feel like they have entered a brand new realm. In old Beijing, apart from the red walls and yellow tiles of the Forbidden City, the alleys are almost all made of blue bricks and gray tiles. Here, the second-floor rooftop platform is colorful, like the surface of Mars, with bright and warm colors, as if full of "magic". MAD tries to take people out of the background of Beijing, or even the earth, and objectively observe and imagine the long river of history in front of them from another time and space.

"If you don't play for three days, you will tear off the tiles on the roof." The undulating rooftop terrain attracts children to run and interact here. Facing the "Mars", the courtyard, the old tree, and the sky in front of them, the children "go up and down" here, inspiring them to think about and pursue different possibilities.

MAD designed three courtyards around several old trees on the original site. The slides and stairs in the courtyards connect the first and second floors. The courtyards echo the courtyard space of the quadrangle, providing outdoor extension and lighting and ventilation for the teaching space.

Ma Yansong said: "There are many 'gaps' in old Beijing - tunnels, roofs, courtyards, etc. The courtyards particularly reflect the Oriental people's view of nature. Here, nature becomes the main body, and the building revolves around nature. The courtyard has nature, heaven and earth, and human life, which together form the core of the building."

Walking from the second floor to the first floor, the sight becomes warm and bright. In order to take care of children's sensitivity to scale and comfort, a unitized aluminum grille ceiling is used indoors. The visual height of the building is slightly lowered while adding a sense of warmth to the interior, giving children a sense of family. Sunlight shines into the room through the full wall of floor-to-ceiling glass, and people can also get a close look at the ancient courtyard outside. The linear history between the old and new buildings becomes three-dimensional here.

The transition space from the first floor to the basement floor on the east side of the lobby is cleverly designed as a theater; surrounding the theater is a circular book wall with Chinese and English picture books. The theater stage is another space - the entrance to the indoor stadium. The indoor stadium, which occupies two floors, is not only an indoor activity space for children during class time, but also a place for the kindergarten to hold art and sports activities for the entire kindergarten.

The west side of the lobby leads to the study area. The flowing spatial layout of the study area provides a free and inclusive spatial atmosphere: different mixed-age study groups are not separated by closed walls, but arc walls are set at intervals, which are the supporting structures of the building. The streamlined layout adds different densities and scales to the space. The "borderless" learning space, the ubiquitous reading environment and the curriculum centered on exploratory "playing" learning not only enrich the interaction and communication between children, but also allow teaching and learning to be carried out in the most optimized atmosphere.

The three-story courtyard, connected by courtyards and corridors, is a place for children's extracurricular cultural, artistic and creative activities and an office for the park staff. The ancient trees, courtyards, eaves and bricks in the courtyard are filled with a historical and natural atmosphere that is longer than the life span of an individual. These will also inspire children's thinking and deepen their understanding of history.

Several seemingly unrelated and even contradictory architectural elements from certain historical periods can not only coexist harmoniously while maintaining their own authenticity, but also interact with each other to create a new openness and richness, which enables children to have an objective and real understanding of their environment. The understanding of nature and history can bring a sense of inclusiveness to new places and shape the unique consensus and value of the community.

*Photographers: Existential Architecture, Hufton+Crow, Tian Fangfang, Iwan Baan