the PLACE
community center
We have been working on the project of the community center PLACE for several years. A young and ambitious team, with whom we had previously worked on the project of the Shamariki children's club, decided to open another cool place in the heart of Krasnodar.
The community center was supposed to become a place of attraction for residents of the city. On an area of more than
820 sq.m., the PLACE has united under its roof a children's educational and leisure center, a family cafe, a lecture hall, a bookcrossing and the office of the Anastasia charitable foundation.
As you know, good ideas always come for some reason already in the process, so for all the time working on the project, the center has changed three concepts, and we have developed three different projects. So now we invite you to immerse yourself in the history of the creation of the PLACE
Managers: Kirill and Elena Cheburashkin
Working group: Ekaterina Kalugina, Vlad Karpushin, Ekaterina Abramova, Elizaveta Andreyko, Polina Litomina
Krasnodar 2020
1. Reception with bookcrossing, 2. Baby stroller's room, 3.Reception, 4. Cafe with children's play area and bar, 5. Corridor, 6. Kitchen, 7. Charity fund office, 8. Closet, 9. Staff room, 10. Psychologist's office, 11. Creative workshop, 12.Classroom, 13. Locker room
Bookcrossing
The first room that welcomes the guests of the center is, of course, the reception. We wanted to make this zone not just transit, but also pleasant for a longer stay. Therefore, a large bookcase found its place in the far part of the room. Books tell stories, stories about nature, the world, distant countries and epochs. We wanted to emphasize this important mission of books - the connection with the past - so our bookcase looks like an aqueduct or a castle wall.
EAT.PLAY.LOVE
The family cafe EAT.PRAY.LOVE became the heart of the community center. It combines a spacious area for meals and brunches with the possibility of organizing a buffet. An open bar where you can refresh yourself with lemonade, coffee, and try desserts. A recreation area with bookcrossing, where a parent can wait for their child from class and read a book with a cup of tea. If necessary, the room is transformed into a lecture hall for conducting trainings and thematic classes for parents
Throughout the project, we tried to adhere to a neutral color scheme with bright saturated spots of color. The cafe's windows overlook the shady side of the building, so here we tried to add more bright warm colors so that even in the darkest moments visitors have their own "sun" :)
There is also a small play area for children right in the cafe. You can get there either from the entrance to the cafe or through a soft "wall" located on the side. In one of your projects, we have already talked about the "hugging machine" and its benefits for the child's psyche. We used the same technique when organizing this zone. And our favorite Photorobot has also found its place here :)
So that the kids don't get overexcited unnecessarily, we decorated this area in calm cream colors and wood textures. The most striking elements here will be the children themselves
Transit zones
In the main corridor of the center, we decided to grow a real fairy-tale forest with fancy trees, bushes, and of course birds. Interestingly, wooden panels serve not only as decoration here, but they also perfectly protect the walls from damage and dirt
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Another part, formally unrelated to the community center, but adjacent to it, was a preparatory class for future schoolchildren. We have designed the corridor area here differently and added more places for parents to wait :)
Preparatory class
When we work on primary school projects, a very frequent request from both parents and educators is to make the transition from kindergarten to school, from play to learning as smooth and natural as possible. And the interior like no other can help with this. After all, the environment determines the mood
The preparatory class is attended by children aged 5-7 years, who will have to go to school next year. In the interior, we combined a classroom with desks, a teacher's board and a projector, and an area for active games and creativity with a memory module and parking for our lovely Trolls
The class also has its own locker
room with lockers for storing students' personal belongings and a toilet, which we decorated with bright ribbons made of traditional Japanese washi paper
"ANASTASIA"
An important part of the project was the office of the Anastasia Charitable Foundation. In Moscow, we have already done the MAGNUM project together with them, but in Krasnodar it was the first experience
And we are proud of this office. On a small area with not the most convenient layout, we located the main office with a separate area for managers, a large storage space, a toilet, kitchen-meeting room, a spacious back office with a lecture hall and a recreation area with bookcrossing
In the project, we tried to keep in touch with the Moscow branch, so white became the main color, we also used the texture of wood, and bright local spots of color added accents and separated zones
Beyond the project
Designing a multifunctional center that combines several directions and topics at once is always a long and complex process. Work on the project of the Place went on for several years and the center managed to change several concepts and layouts. not all of them were included in the final project, but we would still like to share them, because we love them
Concept 1
1. Reception, 2. Baby stroller's room, 3. Director's office, 4. Cafe with children's play area and bar, 5. Corridor, 6. Kitchen, 7. Large playground, 8. Closet, 9. Staff room, 10. Party room/dance hall, 11. Classroom, 12. Locker room
Concept 2
1. Staff room, 2. Baby stroller's room, 3.Reception, 4. Cafe with children's play area and bar, 5. Corridor, 6. Kitchen, 7. Charity fund office, 8. Closet, 9. Staff room, 10. Psychologist's office, 11. Creative workshop, 12.Classroom, 13. Locker room
Boss office
Even before the appearance of Anastasia's office, we planned to place a small office of the head of the center in the entrance group. There were supposed to be conversations with parents, planning meetings with employees and basic administrative work
Anthill
vertical playground
On the site of Anastasia's current back office, it was supposed to place a large play area with a vertical playground, an Anthill. We were inspired by how hardworking ants build their maze houses and decided to do something similar for children. Mazes, interactive panels, dry pool and much more
Party Hall / Dance Hall
The room that we especially liked is a dance hall, which, if necessary, is quickly transformed into a hall for celebrations. The hall is equipped with a stage for performances with storage built into the podium and a large full-length mirror with motivational quotes
Psychologist's office
A psychologist is one of the most important specialists when it comes to children. It can help children cope with anxiety or teach them to communicate competently with their peers, and for parents it can teach them how to properly establish a connection with a child and find their way into parenthood
Creative workshop
The creative workshop is equipped with everything necessary for drawing, modeling, designing or other manual labor
"АNASTASIA"
The decision to introduce Anastasia's office into the space of the Place center was not made immediately. Initially, it was planned to allocate only a small area in the far part of the building for the office. The entrance to the office was planned next to the cafe, so the concept continues the same theme and the interior is made in similar shades
