AMELIA TAVELLA, CARUBY NURSERY AND CHILDREN'S LEISURE CENTRE
The architect Amelia Tavella, winner of the design competition for Caruby nursery and children’s recreational centre in Gassin (in the south of France), created a work of architecture attentive to the landscape, topography and surrounding vegetation.
Set on a natural site typical of the Mediterranean region featuring pine trees, terraces and mineral soil, the project brings together a nursery, children’s recreational centre, community spaces and outdoor educational areas on a 1,650 m² architectural complex designed to support the development, rhythms and learning processes of early childhood.
The child-centred design is focused around fragmented, easy-to-read structures, fluid continuity between the inside and outside, and a spatial layout that promotes autonomy, safety and calmness. Architecture turns into the equivalent of a refuge extended by 3,500 m² of greenery that fully contributes to the sensory experience of the place.
Based on a long-term bioclimatic approach, the project combines a wooden structure, lime-sprayed concrete/hemp and natural stone cladding from the Var region. These construction features reflect a simple and sustainable way of building rooted in the earth with material conveying a sense of memory and history. The project epitomises Amelia Tavella's design philosophy: to build without erasing and extend without betraying, while inscribing architecture in a proper relationship between landscape, usage and adaptation over time.
