Learning Spaces. Editorial ERA21 #04/2025

Alžběta Nováková

Each of us probably remembers the building of the kindergarten we once attended. What often comes back, rather than specific recollections, are the sensations and impressions associated with that place. For me, it’s the garden with its quiet corner under the trees, where new friendships were formed; the lockers in the dimly lit corridor that marked the start of every school day; or the soft carpet, onto which I once accidentally spilled an entire bowl of soup. As you begin reading this issue, I invite you to try this exercise, too: what spatial memories come to your mind?

In recent years, the architecture of kindergartens has undergone a significant transformation. Instead of standardized buildings, new projects are increasingly described as playful landscapes. A year ago, ERA21 published an issue titled Not Just Elementary Schools, in which we initially planned to cover both elementary schools and kindergartens together. It soon became clear, however, that kindergartens represent a completely distinct typology—one that deserves an issue of its own. Similarly, the German studio Baukind, whose work is featured in this issue, points out that small children are entirely different clients than teenagers or adults, and that designing spaces for them involves more than just adjusting the scale. Given the number of new, thoughtful kindergartens recently completed in the Czech Republic—and the ongoing urgency of the shortage of preschool places—we are devoting a whole issue to early childhood education this year.

The environment designed for the youngest among us is often one of the first to shape how we navigate the world and society. The Italian psychologist Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio Emilia educational approach, described such an environment as “the third teacher,” one that educates through light, material, and the relationships it enables. Perhaps this is why we remember these spaces so vividly—because within them we had our earliest experiences of what space truly means.