The Swiss studio led by Diego Comamala and Toufiq Ismail-Meyer designed this preschool in the small village of Ried-Brig, on the road that connects Switzerland’s Canton of Valais to Italy. The project is part of a plan to remodel the entrance to the historical core of the locality, which has lost its central character and former significance and become an area of scattered elements, with no clear order and identity.

Clad in concrete on the outside and wood inside, the building rises on the highest part of the plot and takes advantage of the steep slope of the terrain to form two ground-floor levels. Prominent on the south facade, with its playful geometry, are two large windows that have the effect of emphasizing the building’s visual and spatial connection with the surrounding Alpine landscape. The north facade presents a door-window that runs the whole length of the nursery, resulting in an easy, natural connection between the classrooms and the playground. A solar power system is installed on the single-pitched roof.