Reviving a Bavarian Monastery Garden: BEZ + KOCK ARCHITEKTEN create a Family-Friendly Daycare Center.

A new daycare centre has been constructed in the historic city centre of Miltenberg, Bavaria, by BEZ + KOCK ARCHITEKTEN in the charming location of the former Franciscan monastery garden. The one-story wooden pavilion was designed to fit seamlessly between the historic monastery walls and divide the park into a protected free-play area for the daycare centre and an open space accessible to the public.

The building's height gradation follows the slightly sloping topography of the site, achieving a natural integration into its surroundings. A continuous pergola lines both long sides of the daycare centre, creating a weather-protected front zone for playing and spending time. The family centre's rooms develop around the landscaped inner courtyard, located at the interface with the daycare centre.

The daycare centre is a structural timber building with visible surfaces on an in-situ concrete floor slab, utilizing regionally available and renewable materials to form the building's core. The historic monastery wall's silver fir facades and local red sandstone masonry give the building a unique character. The sandstone and wood provide a tactile and atmospheric quality, creating a house to touch and grasp.

Inside the daycare centre, brightly coloured felt elements provide the children with orientation, while large-format skylights create an attractive daylight situation for the checkrooms. Each group room has an integrated climbing element rising as a lookout above the green roof areas, enclosed only by a light steel net for maximum transparency. Retreats have been created for the children on the upper levels, inspiring them to dream, read, observe or reflect with a view of the directly adjacent monastery.

Overall, the new daycare centre in Miltenberg offers a unique opportunity for children to learn and grow in a safe, playful, and historical environment. The careful and precise development of the monastery garden ensures that the new building is not only a valuable addition to the city's architecture but also an excellent place for education and teaching of values to our children.

Architects: Bez+Kock Architekten

Area: 2133 m²

Year: 2022

Photographs: Stephan Baumann, bild_raum

Manufacturers: Holzkraus GmbH Schweinfurt, RAICO, Sohm Holzbautechnik

Lead Architects: Martin Bez, Thorsten Kock

Construction Management: Hessdörfer Seifert Architekten

Structural Engineering: merz kley partner GmbH

HVAC: Oliver Etienne Ingenieurbüro für technische Anlagen

Electrical Planning: Büro für Elektrotechnik Langer

Building Physics: Golisch Bauphysik GmbH, W. Sorge Ingenieurbüro für Bauphysik

Landscape Design: Koeber Landschaftsarchitektur