Kindergarten Münichsthal
With quiet confidence and clear character, this kindergarten integrates seamlessly into the village fabric, shaped by a narrow green and adjoining traditional farmsteads. A second level in the group rooms invites discovery and exploration.
In operation since February 2022, the new building quickly reached capacity—so rapidly, in fact, that by 2025 a third group room had already been added, as anticipated in the original concept. The speed of the expansion was somewhat surprising, but also speaks to the quality and appeal of the facility.
Set back from the street, the entrance is reached via a small forecourt. A dedicated pull-in bay along the road provides a safe drop-off and pick-up space—a practical necessity in rural areas where life without a car is almost unimaginable. This is also the reason that the first of the three small courtyards is designated as a parking lot for employees.
Internal circulation areas run along a skylit “play street” with a sunny yellow floor, which also accommodates the cloakrooms. The three group rooms extend deep into the site, illuminated by large windows—some wrapping around corners or extending up onto the roof—placed at eye level for children. With light parquet flooring, white walls, and flexible furnishings, the group rooms offer plenty of space for different activities and constantly changing settings. Each is a small world of its own, complete with storage space and sanitary facilities, and most notably, a second level accessible by stairs, made possible by the generous ceiling height. Like a treehouse, this upper level invites exploration while offering a cozy retreat. A small, intimate playground is assigned to each group and, together with a movement room near the entrance and a spacious, gently sloping garden at the back of the site, provides abundant space for play and activity both indoors and outdoors.
The low-energy building is heated and cooled by a groundwater heat pump with deep probes. External sunshades and automatically opening windows counteract overheating in summer. Combined with the use of predominantly ecological materials and high standards in design and construction, the building achieved klimaaktiv Gold certification for sustainability.
[ Kindergarten Münichsthal ] Architecture: Treberspurg & Partner Architekten ZT GmbH. Client: Stadtgemeinde Wolkersdorf im Weinviertel. Structural engineering: KPPK ZT GmbH. Procurement procedure: Invited competition with five participants. Planning and construction period: 2020–2022 (Expansion 2025). Usable floor area: 714 m². Address: Hauptstraße 103, 2122 Münichsthal, Lower Austria.