环绕大树的儿童空间：富士环树教室

公司：	Tezuka Architects	类型：	建筑
地区：	日本	标签：	校园

幼儿园的附设有英语教室和校车等候区，一棵扭曲的榉树耸立在基地中。

The annex to Fuji Kindergarten contains English classrooms and a school bus waiting area. A twisting zelkova tree dominates the site and while half of the building is exterior space.

项目在一定意义上是对大树的保护。大约五十年前，这棵榉树被台风刮倒，险些丧命，但它不仅存活了下来，而且树长得如此之大，大到两个成人年都无法抱住，倾斜的树干非常适合攀爬，树皮经过孩子的不断抚摸而变得光滑，因此我们设计了一个树屋，只有小孩子才能进入，孩子们在树荫下玩耍，天气好的时候也能在此上课。

Ring Around a Tree is a small contribution to a historically complex space. Nearly fifty years ago the zelkova nearly died when it was blown over by a typhoon. Not only did it survive, but the tree has grown so large that two adults cannot clasp hands around its base. The angled trunk is perfect for climbing, with bark polished smooth by generations of small, adventuresome hands. Previously, a tree house occupied the site, so small only children could enter. Ducks lived at the base of the tree and on nice days classes were held in the cool shade.

每年5月，绿叶就会逐渐长出来，覆盖整个建筑。这个椭圆形的平面呼应了榉树宽阔的树冠，使柱子和地板似乎消失在闪烁的阴影中。

Each May, greenery engulfs the building. The oval-shaped plan traces the zelkova's broad canopy making the columns and floor seem to vanish in the shimmering shadows.

没有家具的教室

主建筑是椭圆形的，五米高共七层，间距从600毫米到1500毫米不等。缺乏一个精确的中心，但附件有一个明确的焦点。它最初的设计灵感来自于菩提树下的佛教传说，但是空间并没有完全按照我们的设想来使用。现有的英语教室很宽敞，但老师和孩子们还是喜欢挤在这个椭圆的建筑里。校长加藤先生说，对孩子们来说，天花板就像天空一样，他们碰不到它，但当天空降低到它们的高度时，就会把它们带到巨大的成人世界。如果你在一个晴朗的日子参观学校，你会发现幼儿园的孩子们咯咯地笑着挤在不到60厘米高的空间里。

A Classroom Without Furniture

While the main building is elliptical, lacking a precise center, the annex has a clear focal point. Its original design drew inspiration from the legend of Buddha preaching under a linden tree, but the space was not used exactly as we had envisioned. Despite the openness of the English classroom, the teacher and children prefer to squeeze into tight corners and niches between floor plates. The five meter-tall building has seven levels, with clearances ranging from 600mm to 1500mm. This idea came from the school's vice principal who requested "a classroom without furniture." When we showed our son and daughter, they touched the ceiling with their hands, smiling. The principal, Mr. Kato, said that for children, the ceiling is like the sky - they cannot touch it. When the sky is lowered to their level, it transports them into the world of giant adults. If you visit the school on a nice day, you'll find giggling kindergartners wedged into spaces less than 60 centimeters high.

通常情况下，天花板比头高，栏杆是安全区域，然而这里的天花板比孩子的身高还低，有许多台阶却没有护栏。在我们把学校开放给幼儿园之前，加藤校长把自己的孩子带到校园里体验了一番，正如他所预料的，孩子有一些小的颠簸和瘀伤，但不严重。不能忽视的是，当孩子们开始爬过栏杆，爬上树枝时，这是很危险的。因此设计师在某些地方绑上绳子解决了安全问题，加藤校长说：“如果我们一开始就把安全作为我们的首要选择，这栋建筑就不会以现在的形式出现，尽管50厘米的身高对孩子来说也是危险的，但了解这些危险并控制周围环境是富士幼儿园教育的重要组成部分。最高的平台离地面有一米高，对于胆大的幼儿园小朋友来说，这是可以征服的高度。地板材料是一个软木一样的材料，儿童跌倒或跌倒时能得以保护，没有学会如何避免轻伤的孩子长大后可能会经历更严重的事故。安全与教育原则之间很难取得平衡。我们必须先腾出空间，看看如何改进，绳索就是这个过程的一个例子。”

Typically ceilings are taller than head height and railings secure areas where someone could fall. Here, however, the ceiling is lower than the height of a child, and there are many steps without guardrails. Before we opened the school to the kindergartners, I brought my own children here to play. Just as we had expected, there were a few small bumps and bruises, but certainly nothing serious. What we could not ignore was when my children began climbing over the handrail and out onto the branches of the tree, this was dangerous. We solved this issue by tying ropes around certain areas. For the principal, they are a safety measure, but for us the ropes capture a positive aspect of the design. If we had begun by considering safety as our primary option, the building would never have been realized in its current form. While even a 50cm height can be hazardous for children, learning about these dangers and gaining control of one’s surroundings are important parts of a child’s education at Fuji Kindergarten. The highest platform is one meter off the ground, a step manageable for a bold kindergartner. The flooring material is a cork-like En Tout Cas that protects children when they tumble or fall, although there is no way to avoid injury 100% of the time. According to Principal Kato, children who do not learn how to avoid minor injuries can experience much more serious accidents as adults. Rather than coddle a boy with a broken arm, the principal proclaims the cast "cool" and presents him proudly to the class as a hero. Of course, a broken arm is much different from a broken neck or back. There is a difficult balance between safety and educational principles. We had to make the space first and see how it could be improved, the ropes being one example of this process. As the tree grows, its relationship with the building will change, and the positioning of the ropes will change as well.

结构最小化

这座建筑物的结构非常细薄，这是很重要的，因为房间的高度不到一米，粗大的结构会影响空间的分布，因此，楼板用9mm的钢筋加固，大部分的柱子都小于30mm的正方形，着几乎与家具的尺寸一样。在这种尺寸下，结构甚至比树枝还要薄。屋顶下的龙骨看起来像树叶的纹理。地板到地板的高度较低，允许柱子有较大的长细比。如果我们假设比例为1:40，那么1.2米的天花板允许柱宽为3cm。水平荷载由八个空腹板支撑，四个跨周，四个在半径上对齐。每个柱和梁的截面都是独一无二的。虽然我们没有模仿大树本身，结果建筑形式却非常接近于在大自然中的植物，无数的微型灯泡就像一群萤火虫落在树上——这在日本是夏天的传统象征。

Minimal Structure

The building's structure is extremely thin. This was important because with rooms less than one meter high, it was conceivable that the structure could be larger than the spaces themselves. The floors are reinforced with 9mm steel ribs and most of the columns are smaller than 30mm square, almost furniture-like dimensions. At this size, the structure is even thinner than the tree branches. The ribs under the roof look like the veins of a leaf, but they were not intended to mimic the tree. Instead the form is a natural result of a rational structural analysis. The low floor-to-floor heights, allow the columns a larger slenderness ratio. If we assume a ratio of 1:40, a ceiling height of 1.2 meters allows a column width of 3cm. The horizontal loads are supported by eight vierendeel plates, four span the circumference and four align on the radii. Each column and beam is unique in section, using only as much material as is necessary. Although we are not imitating the tree per se, the result is a form that is extremely close to that found in nature. We conducted an excavation survey in order to avoid building over the zelkova’s roots. A concrete slab foundation sits on carefully placed stakes. Countless miniature light bulbs appear like a swarm of fireflies alighting on the tree - a traditional symbol of summertime in Japan.

我们把这个项目命名为“Ring Around a Tree”，这个名字是彼得库克(Peter Cook)提出来的，他在参观现场时想起了英国儿童歌曲《Ring Around the Rosie》。

We named the project “Ring Around a Tree,” a name suggested by Peter Cook who, upon visiting the site, recalled the English children’s song “Ring Around the Rosie.”

歌词：Ring around the rosie,

Pocketful of posies,

“Ashes, Ashes,”

We all fall down!