Noma Kindergarten (野間自由幼稚園)
Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture
Sources checked October 2026
- Year
- 2003
- Architect
- Tadao Ando
- Type
- Kindergarten
- Access
- Working kindergarten, not open to the public (school website, October 2026)
Tadao Ando designed the building of the Noma Kindergarten in Ito, completed in February 2003, with a curved roof and timber walls inside and out. A wide terrace serves as a second playground, and the building is paired with a traditional Japanese garden, with a lawn set off by a marble sculpture. The school was founded in 1948 by the president of Kodansha.
History
The school was founded in 1948 by the then president of the publisher Kodansha, on part of the Noma family's land and buildings. It is now run by the Noma cultural foundation. The new building designed by Tadao Ando was completed in February 2003.
Architecture
The building has a curved roof, and natural timber covers its walls inside and out. The wide terrace can serve as a second playground. The modern building is paired with a traditional Japanese garden; in the grounds, the lawn holds a marble sculpture.
Use today
The school looks after young children and serves as an experimental school for educational research, starting with early-childhood education, under the guidance of the Noma institute for educational research.
Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture
Greenhouses nearby
Architecture nearby
