“RÅÅ PRESCHOOL MAKES a convincing statement about the importance of space for children and young people,” concludes the jury for the Swedish Timber Prize 2016 in its statement about the winner. The preschool opened in 2013 and featured in an article in Trä! #2, 2014. The prize-winning design – by Danish architect Dorte Mandrup – was inspire by the coast of Råå, with its fishing huts and sand dunes. But the preschool children also helped, by relating what their dream preschool would look like.
One of many concrete results from this collaboration is the little nook with windows at the entrance, where the kids can wave their parents off in the morning. The extensive glazing in the load-bearing walls created problems during construction, which the structural engineer resolved using chunky glulam beams that can take huge loads. The cladding comprises narrow, vertical battens of robinia, a hard and tannin-rich wood that requires no surface treatment.«
