Modern Architecture & Storytelling: Giraffe Childcare Center in Paris

Hondelatte Laporte Architectes completed the design for The Giraffe childcare center, a 60 bed childcare center and 20 bed day nursery located in Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburban area of Paris. The objective of the architects was to animate the urban landscape by using a child's imagination, thus resulting into an unusual building, seemingly supported by wild animals, such as a yellow giraffe which appears to be eating the leaves of the surrounding trees, a polar bear and a family of ladybirds.

The project is an original mix of modern architecture and storytelling: “The facades of the building are made out of white corrugated iron that provides a minimal background to the wild animal sculptures. The building changes its identity and becomes a landscape in its own right, a metaphor for the urban jungle. The animals and the trees link the building to nature and motion“. The Giraffe childcare center was awarded the green "zéro Energie Effinergie" label for its sustainable features.