Kéré Architecture opens timber kindergarten at Munich Technical University

Kéré Architecture has completed Kinderoase, a mass timber childcare center for Munich's Technical University (TUM). The five-story, 17,000-square-foot building serves about 60 children and is designed primarily from wood, with the exception of an emergency stair and foundation. A cantilevered entrance leads into a space featuring a helical yellow stair and a slide connecting floors—a central play element. Children are grouped by age on different floors, with communal areas for play, sports, and dining on middle and upper levels, and a rooftop terrace called the "sky meadow." Designed in collaboration with Austrian timber specialists HK Architekten, the interior uses wood furniture and shelving for biophilic benefits. The kindergarten aims to support women pursuing academic careers at TUM, as noted by financial sponsor Ingeborg Pohl. Renderings were first shared in April 2024. Architect Francis Kéré, whose early projects were for schoolchildren, stated the building is designed from children's perspective as a vertical playground.