Architecture

The KinderKunstLabor is a four-storey triangular building made of timber and concrete located in St. Pölten’s Altoonapark. This new institution between the historic city centre and the culture district / government quarter was designed by the Viennese architecture office Schenker Salvi Weber. From the renewable building material wood and the preservation of existing trees to the insect and bird-friendly design of the lighting, the architects have taken great care to minimise the ecological footprint and to protect nature. The entire building is designed to ensure that children can move and play freely both indoors and outdoors. Construction began at the end of 2022.

The ground floor offers ample space to arrive, take a deep breath, sit down, and take a look around. There is a large inviting area to play: this expansive, captivating landscape was designed by the internationally renowned architect Jakub Szczęsny (in collaboration with Karolina Potębska and studio-itzo), who was selected together with participants from the art ideas workshop. He found his inspiration in drawings of favourite playgrounds by members of the Children’s Advisory Groups. Together with their parents and grandparents, pre-school children can explore interactive zones made up of organic formations and textile elements. In the adjacent shop area, children’s books and toys, from spinning tops to hobby horses, wait to be discovered. They are conceived and produced collaboratively by designers and children. Many of the items are made from natural materials such as wood, wax, felt, and stones or from paper hand made by children in the labs.

A spacious lift and a broad staircase with sitting steps and cushions lead up to the first floor. The generously designed staircase is a means in itself to experience and discover the building. Beyond its pure functionality, this “in-between” space invites visitors to linger and thereby serves as a clear transition to the exhibition space. Here is where artists display the works that they have developed in exchanges with children and will continue to elaborate in the future. More than 400 square metres of exhibition space allow a multitude of perspectives on art: visitors can view, interact, experience with all their senses, comment the works while lying down, jumping, striding by, or from above. The large exhibition space is also an excellent setting for occasional live music and literary events.

There are two large studio-like labs for artistic workshops and projects. Inspired by what they have seen and experienced in the exhibition, children as well as adults can put their inventiveness and imagination to the test in the labs together with artists and the art mediation team and develop something new. There are no predefined goals – the focus is on creative, free activities: anything is possible.
 

The labs border onto a spacious two-storey terrace, which offers a – safely protected – view into the park. In the spring and summer months, many workshops and projects can be held outside in the fresh air. A section of the terrace features Toshis Gift おくリもの, an installation by internationally renowned artist Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam: the six-metre-high, nine-metre-wide, and five-metre-long climbing net sprawls over the two floors and integrates into the architecture like a labyrinth. The net is designed to provide a challenging play environment in which kids can assess the risk themselves. This installation is directly accessible by lift from the ground floor. The children from the art ideas workshop helped to select the artist.

Children’s and youth books are presented on the third floor. Visitors can retreat here to read and relax. Relating to the themes of the KinderKunstLabor projects and exhibitions, current publications are on display and can be perused in the reference library. Reading, illustration, and film events with authors and illustrators complement the programme.

Back to the ground floor: guests accompanying the children and other interested adults can not only immerse themselves in art or take part in creative activities but also take a break in the café or park. Drinks and food – vegan, vegetarian, regional, and organic – await hungry and thirsty visitors in the café. When it’s warm enough, the terrace also offers additional seating with a view out into Altoonapark with its play areas and art installations.

Together with the KinderKunstLabor, Altoonapark forms a sensual continuum of art, movement, and adventure. A formerly overlooked green space is now a new highlight for children and young people, adults, families, neighbours, and visitors. The approximately 6,200 m² park – named after St. Pölten’s twin city Altoona in Pennsylvania – has been revamped by artists, landscape planners, and designers together with children and local residents to respond to different moods, interests, and needs. In a special blend of artistic work and play area, nature can be discovered in various ways: places to hide and seek, play with water or in the sand, and much more. Permanent, interactive “hands-on” sculptures have been installed in the park. The objects can be touched, climbed upon, or crawled through; they trigger new perceptions and perspectives while sensitising both children and adults to nature and the spatial setting of the KinderKunstLabor.

The trees in Altoonapark are vital. They create a pleasant microclimate and enrich the experience of the park. With this in mind, the tree population was preserved to the greatest extent possible and has been supplemented with new plantings. In total, there are around 60 trees. At the heart of the park is an open meadow. A new system of pathways opens up the park and creates links to the surrounding areas, such as St. Pölten Sports Secondary School to the south, the residential buildings to the north, east, and west and the cultural district with Festspielhaus St. Pölten and Museum Niederösterreich to the south-east.