The whole design for this kindergarten is based on children’s games.  I chose the design of a checkboard to be my inspiration.  I realized that when turning a checkerboard from a two-dimensional pattern into three dimensions there is a higher and lower a level, a surface level and a subterranean one.  I first created a classroom where the desks for the children were two checks of a checkerboard that fit into one another.  This created a chain of desks where each child gets two desks.  One desk for class that is out in the open and one for themselves underneath the child beside them.  This space for a child to have privacy is very important and gives the child a sense of safety and freedom.  These classrooms are then placed in the building vertically and horizontally from each other, in the checkerboard pattern.  The rest of the spaces in the building repeat this pattern.  In the concept of the 3D checkerboard creating a subterranean space I created a series of underground tunnels that open up to a larger underground area.  I made the tunnels small that only children could use them, giving them another space that is private for them but in a larger scale.  This larger space then has another tunnel leading to the gymnasium.  This private circulation is vital to the program’s safety because there is a path cutting through the open outdoor area on the site for the community surrounding the kindergarten.  Now because of these underground tunnels the children can safely go from one building to another without supervision at all times.  With this project I’m trying to give the children that attend this school space to make their own rules and have more control and freedom over their own lives.