An “abstract ensemble” of pyramidal roofs covered in terracotta tiles has been designed to evoke the atmosphere of a small village at Kinder Rain, a new kindergarten in Italy completed by the local architecture practice AACM.
The 672-square-metre kindergarten is situated in Piove di Sacco, Padua, occupying a lush, tree-lined green space.
To create a building that felt familiar to both students and the local community, AACM took inspiration from Casone Veneto, the region’s traditional cabins. These structures influenced the kindergarten’s distinctive pyramidal roofs.
“Designing a public building made us consider how to connect the project with local history, aiming for an architecture that would be embraced and easily understood by the community,” explained AACM co-founder Rodolfo Morandi to Dezeen.
“The form is a reference to the traditional fishermen’s houses—Casone Veneto—which, with their sloping roofs, are iconic in the culture of the Piove di Sacco area,” Morandi added.
“The school presents itself as a small village, an abstract collection of pyramidal ‘houses’ organized around a central square, the ‘agora’, which serves as an inner playroom connected to each classroom.”
The classrooms at Kinder Rain are arranged around this central playroom, which—together with a hall and cloakroom—serves as a connective hub, eliminating the need for conventional corridors.
In each classroom, the pyramidal roof shapes create high, steep ceilings with skylights at their peak, a feature AACM hopes will inspire and engage the children’s imaginations.
The interior uses a restrained palette to highlight the building’s form, featuring wood floors, white walls, and ceilings lined with wood fibre panels. These panels help control acoustics in the taller spaces and reference the traditional thatched roofs of the Casone Veneto.
Along the building’s edge, three courtyards—referred to as ‘external classrooms’—open to the landscape through wide openings. A paved walkway and concrete benches run along the perimeter, leading to a welcoming entrance plaza on the south side.
