Small-scale fittings, blackboards walls and round toilet cubicles are incorporated into this kindergarten in Japan, designed by architecture studios Hibino Sekkei and Youji no Shiro around a garden playground (+ slideshow).
The playrooms, dining areas and toilet blocks that make up the pre-school enclose a planted courtyard furnished with climbing frames and playhouses.
The dining hall is fronted by a row of sliding glass doors, allowing the space to extend out to a decked terrace that is also sheltered by the roof and creating an area for children to eat outdoors in good weather.
"Children enjoy lunchtime in this comfortable space," said the architects.
Deep-set windows create seating nooks between the playground and one of the corridors, which connects classrooms with the office and toilet blocks.
In the classrooms, low sideboards and small-scale wooden furniture put most of the fittings within easy reach of the small-statured occupants.