Saitama City Children and Family Center "Palette Square"

A space for fostering parent-child relationships that expresses the diversity of children's minds and bodies with a rich range of colors

  • Cultural Spaces
  • Children are greeted by an endless expanse of colors overflowing from the colorful "palette"

    Children are greeted by an endless expanse of colors overflowing from the colorful "palette"

  • A generous setting that encourages diverse communities, including watching over, talking to, and playing together

    A generous setting that encourages diverse communities, including watching over, talking to, and playing together

  • "Flower Garden Library" where you can read picture books and "Sky Plaza" for infants

    "Flower Garden Library" where you can read picture books and "Sky Plaza" for infants

  • Palette Square is a place where family behavior creates a colorful and lively atmosphere, exuding gentleness and kindness.

    Palette Square is a place where family behavior creates a colorful and lively atmosphere, exuding gentleness and kindness.

  • Saitama City Children and Family Center "Palette Square"
  • A generous setting that encourages diverse communities, including watching over, talking to, and playing together
  • "Flower Garden Library" where you can read picture books and "Sky Plaza" for infants
  • Palette Square is a place where family behavior creates a colorful and lively atmosphere, exuding gentleness and kindness.

Photo: Nacása & Partners Inc.

About the Project

Overview This play area for infants and toddlers is located on the first floor of the Saitama City Child and Family General Center, a comprehensive childcare support facility equipped with a specialized counseling agency and mental health center to resolve issues surrounding children and families. In the area, children can freely choose what to play, and parents can watch over their children from various distances, and the space is composed of a relaxing area where parents can talk to each other.
Issues/Themes The space will be one where parents can feel free to discuss issues that affect not only their children but also their families, such as the sense of isolation that modern parents face when raising children, and where children can develop their creativity on their own, with safety also taken into consideration.
Space Solution/Realization We have taken the diversity of children's minds and bodies, which is difficult to put into words, as colors, and created a plaza that accepts all of these colors, a generous vessel (palette) that fosters a free relationship between parents and children. The color of the space incorporates materials from children's workshops using washi paper, and is composed of a natural environment filled with rich colors. We hope that the behavior of families in the "Palette Plaza" will create a lively atmosphere and cultivate a new, colorful future.
Design for Environment We pursued new universal designs from a child's perspective, such as playgrounds that encourage children to play spontaneously without the need for explanations, and "hide-and-seek pictograms" that use pictures to encourage safety considerations.

Basic Information

Client Saitama City
Services Provided Design, Layout, Production, Construction
Our Team Project Leader: Tsuyoshi Kato
Design Direction: Toshitake Tanaka
Planning: Hanae Yoshino
Design: Utsumi Satomi
Production, Construction: Shogo Suzuki
Project Management: Masayuki Mashimo
Awards "DSA KUKAN DESIGN AWARD 2018" Silver Award
"JCD Design Award 2018" BEST100
Selected for the 52nd Japan Sign Design Awards, Kanto Region Award
Location Saitama, Japan
Open April, 2018
Website http://i-palette.com/
Tag
Toshitake Tanaka

Design Direction

Toshitake Tanaka

He has worked on a wide range of facilities, including museums, children's facilities, and disaster prevention and earthquake disaster facilities. He is strongly committed to establishing a context that connects the theme of each facility to the spatial design, and to creating spaces that spread messages and activities. He is currently traveling around the country with the motto of "creating facilities that people want to visit again and again."

*The shared information and details of the project is accurate as of the date they were posted. There may have been unannounced changes at a later date.