Kiddiwinkie Schoolhouse @ Jurong Gateway, Singapore
The Kiddiwinkie Schoolhouse at Jurong Gateway in Singapore is conceived as more than a preschool — it is an immersive learning landscape where architecture, nature, and pedagogy intertwine to awaken a sense of wonder in the youngest learners. Commissioned by Babilou Family Singapore and designed in collaboration between Inully and CIAP, the project redefines the early education environment as a place where curiosity, care, and sustainability are seamlessly interwoven.
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Awarded BCA Green Mark Platinum, Singapore’s highest sustainability recognition, the Kiddiwinkie Schoolhouse is the nation’s first childcare project to achieve this rating — a living environment that grows with its children, teaching care by inhabiting it.
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From the outset, the concept imagined a “forest in the city” — not as metaphor, but as a tangible environment in which children move through airy, sculptural volumes that invite play, reflection, and discovery. The Tree House Cocoon and Reading Nest are not decorative additions but central characters in the spatial narrative, each crafted with sustainable Accoya wood to ensure durability, lightness, and environmental integrity.
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Working within Singapore’s robust regulatory framework posed early challenges. Designing elevated play pods demanded structural finesse, safety compliance, and serviceability — all without compromising the delicacy of material expression. Yet perhaps the greater challenge lay in reframing the culture of “safe play” that often defines Singaporean preschools. The team sought to reintroduce the essence of unstructured, nature-based play — moments where children climb, crawl, get muddy, and engage with the real textures of the world. It was about allowing discovery to be a little untidy, a little unpredictable, yet profoundly human.
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Through repeated prototyping and close collaboration with Calvary Carpentry, connections were refined to remain both precise and maintainable. The architecture balances transparency with comfort through generous overhangs, cross-ventilation strategies, and shading trellises woven with climbing greenery, ensuring daylight without glare or heat gain.
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The hybrid structure combines steel and timber frames, with Accoya cladding and laminated wood shells shaping the cocoon and reading volumes. Demountable joints allow future adaptability, while low-VOC finishes and natural textures create a warm, sensory environment. Outside, the vegetable garden becomes an “edible classroom,” grounding learning in cycles of care and growth
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