Children Architectures. Spaces for discovering and caring inhabited by different and changing corporealities

Contemporary children’s architectures, like kindergartens, must be conceived on specific requirements dictated by different and changing corporealities. Indeed, children have bodies that are continuously changing due to the growth process; they are active users of architecture, exploring space with their bodies, improving their autonomy and competencies, and needing care and discreet protection. Moreover, these spaces host the co-presence of different bodies: the children of various ages and the adults who form the school community inhabiting the same spaces due to their different roles (educators, employees, parents, and so on). A bodycentred approach to the architectural design of children architectures can lead to learning environments based on updated pedagogical requirements, respecting the different needs and measures of the various users. A body-centred approach to architecture is necessary for children’s architecture because of the peculiarity of their fast-growing corporeality and peculiar capability to establish spatial relationships with the environments that they inhabit. The simultaneous presence of the adults in the same spaces implies dealing with different measures, scales and points of view. Although these spaces’ design is body-centred, digital media can provide helpful information to facilitate their livability and accessibility, especially in public spaces.