Bubbletecture Maihara Kindergarten

At a time when more and more young children are spending time in organised child care services and schools, an international award has revealed some of the best examples worldwide of spaces designed specifically for their needs. Bubbletecture Maihara Kindergarten, in Japan, has been selected as overall winner of the international award for excellence in architecture and design for children up to the age of ten. Its continuous wave structure, made almost exclusively using natural timber, is worlds away from the four walls that normally divide up children's spaces.

Five other designs from Scotland, England, Colombia, Italy and Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, chosen as runners up, also demonstrate how important it is to ensure that organised care gives children the freedom to explore. All six designs demonstrate an awareness that designing a space for children is not just about the interior. Ensuring that children have access to, and are able to use and develop an appreciation of the outdoors is vital.

Bronwen Cohen, chief executive of Children in Scotland, and one of the judges said: "The expansion in services for young children means that more young children are spending time in organised child care of some kind. At the same time, we are witnessing a decline in access to safe public space, such as town squares or open countryside. With less freedom to roam and more time spent in organised space it is vitally important that we listen to young children and consider their needs fully. We need to give children more opportunity to allow their imaginations to run free and enable them to contribute to the design of their own space."

Bubbletecture Maihara Kindergarten, in Japan, is a two-story nursery that has been built using flexible timber beams held together by hexagon-shaped metal fittings. The finished design is a continuous wave structure, worlds away from the four walls that normally divide up children's spaces. It comprises four nursery areas and a spacious communal play area. 'Space' was considered to be key.

According to arhcitect Shuhei Endo, "Open space allows children to play freely. The ambiguity of it actually stimulates their imaginations. They can explore their feelings without restraint. Architects should not create inflexible spaces that children cannot change."

This view is shared by Matti Bergstrom, emeritus professor of neurophysiology at the University of Helsinki in Iceland, who believes that too much ordered structure suppresses creativity. He said: "Spaces like the classrooms in many of our schools are not what is required. Why do children like playing outside amongst nature, or seek out the untidy or incomplete, ruined buildings or building sites? Buildings which offer young children the chance for them to re-order, complete or knock them down provide their brains with room to grow and mature."

The fact that natural wood has been used to build Bubbletecture is also important for Endo. Wood is a traditional material in Japan and he used natural instead of laminated wood throughout, even for the chairs and tables. He said the materials were carefully selected to consider the children's overall health.

When describing the building, the children themselves have made a connection with nature saying it reminds them of "pleasant spaces where there are lots of trees".

Endo added: "The director of the kindergarten told us the children enjoy the building. They make connections with nature and have commented on the interesting shape of the roof and the variety of space. Many of them are reluctant to go home after class. Their cheers are heard right into the evening."

Architecture and design for young children, international award 2005, is run by Children in Scotland and the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, in association with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Children in Europe and with sponsorship from Lend Lease. The award is part of a programme of work supported by the Scottish Executive. The winning entries will be exhibited at the international conference Making space: architecture and design for young children, held in Edinburgh this December, chaired by journalist and broadcaster Kirsty Wark.