Råå Preschool

When you look at the day-care center of Råå, the term “becoming part of the landscape” comes to mind. In Råå, a small fishing village outside Helsingborg in Sweden, Dorte Mandrup has designed a preschool with the utmost respect for its surroundings. With an entirely wooden surface, the building imitates the neighbouring sand dunes with its sloping and jagged rooftops, as well as the traditional typology of the city’s small fishermen houses. The building seems to argue that children (also) deserve a space that makes them feel connected to the everyday life and landscape all around them.

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The preschool is built on the borderland between the beach and the old fishing town of Råå, directly connected to the local school. 

The building is shaped as an interpretation of the condensed village structure, immersed in a dune. The characteristic volume of the building dominates the interior experience with interesting shapes and views of the sea and the surroundings.

The applied typology is challenged and used to create the best light incidence for the children at all times of year.

Raa Preschool 2
Raa Preschool 3
Raa Preschool 4
The building is shaped as an interpretation of the condensed village structure, immersed in a dune.
Raa Preschool, Dorte Mandrup
Raa Preschool, Dorte Mandrup
Raa Preschool 7
Raa Preschool 8
The building seems to argue that children (also) deserve a space that makes them feel connected to the everyday life and landscape all around them.
Raa Preschool 9