Designed for children

ETH Zurich’s first crèche celebrated its 40-year anniversary last year. Now the interior design of its new building has received a prize from the architecture magazine Hochparterre, which awards the best buildings and objects in architecture, design and landscaping every year since 1991.
The new building designed by architects Di Iorio & Boermann to house the existing crèche is praised for its generous and flexible design. The low windows and playful colours make it clear immediately that these rooms are intended for children. The jury placed emphasis on the fact that this interior design conveys an attitude which “takes the needs of its little users seriously”.

Childcare pioneer

The crèche was founded in 1972 as an independent parents’ association to offer professional childcare for ETH Zurich. The Kikri was one of the first such facilities in Zurich’s university landscape. In 2008 the crèche had to leave its original premises because the building was torn down for fire safety reasons. The new, modern building on Clausiusstrasse which ETH, as the owner of the property, subsequently commissioned offers space for 42 children. The crèche offers care for children from the age of four months until they start kindergarten.