# Study on Environmental Art Design Based on Ecology Concept

Authors: ZiWen Jiang; Feng Wang
Journal: Journal of Sensors
 (2022)

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## Abstract

Ecological design concept is a design concept aimed at advocating green environmental protection and sustainable development, which is widely used in different cases of environmental design including urban and kindergarten. In our study, using literature research, case reference, and field research as research methods, through the theoretical research of domestic and foreign kindergarten environment design and interpretation of typical cases to summarize the ecological design method and design strategy, can be further applied in larger field such as urban, basin, and/or region. Then, take “Chenguang” kindergarten in Beijing as example to analyze ecological element in there. Aiming at ecological landscape, ecological humanities, and ecological experience as the goal, the kindergarten’s architectural appearance and indoor and outdoor environment have been transformed and redesigned. Ecological principle and ecological strategy from our study present an important reference meaning in improving the quality of urban space environment and shaping a good city image which are of great significance.


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## Body

## 1. Introduction

Urban environmental art design plays an important role in improving the quality of urban space environment and shaping a good city image which are of great significance. Urbanization has brought adverse effects on the urban ecological environment [1]. In recent years, urban ecological environmental problems have become increasingly severe. Under this background, the concepts of ecological design have increasingly penetrated the hearts of designers. Its application in urban environmental art design has also become a necessity, which is conducive to alleviate the problems of urban environmental pollution and excessive consumption of resources. Only a correct understanding and sufficient attention to environmental issues and a positive measure can these problems be better solved. Integrating life into urban environmental art design has been a trend of the modern times and meets the requirements of urban sustainable development. The integration of ecological concepts in the field of environmental art design is to ensure the society to optimize environmental space resource allocation and improve the efficiency of comprehensive utilization of resources under the premise of regular operation of society and daily life in an efficient and orderly manner, so as to keep the ecological balance from being broken [2].As a discipline that integrates the knowledge of fine arts, architecture, urban planning, etc., the connotation of environmental art design is continuously extending with the development of society. From the environmental point of view, architecture should focus on the relationship between itself and nature, through the combination of artistic aesthetics and architectural functions, providing a guaranteed for completing the environmental art work. It can be seen that the framework of environmental art design is art, the embodiment is the architecture, and the two are indispensable [3]. In essence, task carried out in city for the environmental art design is the work of enhancing the environmental art of the urban landscape, which involved humanities, history, geography, and many other factors; the purpose is to compare the development prospects of the city in a more intuitive way. Researches have shown that environmental art design follows mainly the rules of nature, on basis of above, adjusts the design plan according to the urban development situation, makes it more scientific and reasonable, and highlights the “people-oriented” concepts [4].However, we should acknowledge that current environmental art design still has following disadvantages [5]: (1) have no consideration on ecological concept. Since the reform and opening of China, the society and economy have developed rapidly. The urban environment has also undergone tremendous changes, urban construction is in full swing, and urbanization is progressing. As a part of urban construction, urban environmental art design has received more attention in modern society. More and more cities have created a beautiful space environment for the public through environmental art design [6]. Urban environmental art design is also developing in a good direction. However, in the current urban environmental art design, ecological design is lacking, some designers lack environmental awareness, and they do not fully realize the seriousness of ecological environmental problems. Although this improves and enhances the quality of urban space environment, it has an impact on urban ecology. The environment has caused a negative impact and is not conducive to the sustainable development of the city. All in all, it is under the background of continuously serious ecological environment. Designers should pay more attention to the artistic design of ecological urban environment, improve the quality of urban space environment, and promote the sustainable and good development of the city. (2) Blindly pursuing grade. In the current urban environmental art design, some designers blindly pursue “grade.” Whether in the selection of materials or in the construction of gardens and green spaces, we blindly pursue luxury and style, palace gardens, and green spaces. The urban environment seems to be “high, large, and superior,” but it is not related to the current development of the city. Therefore, urban environmental art design should start with the status quo of urban development and pay attention to the suitability, popularity, and timeliness of environmental art design, so as to design and create an urban space environment that can meet the diverse needs of the public territory. (3) Serious homogeneity problem. Under the background of information environment, the ways for the public to obtain information are becoming more and more diversified; in this context, the disseminating of design methods and design concepts becomes more quick and broad. In the current urban environmental art design, landscape projects with very similar design elements and design techniques are not uncommon; some designers are innovative and possess insufficient ability, who imitate, plagiarize, copy, and paste in the design and also ignore the differences in regional culture and natural environment between cities, so as to lead to the same design homogeneity [7]. Innovation is the soul of design; designers should enhance their sense of innovation and ability to combine with the city’s regional culture, innovative design of the natural environment, etc., to create a unique urban environment.Putting ecological concept into environmental art design has a very important significance, which can build green society and make environment protection and resource saving come true. What needs to do for combining ecological concept with environmental art design is that designers should possess holistic concept, improve measures of environment protection, and promote ecological service level of building [8]. Among the many characteristics of ecological design, the most representative one is naturalness, that is, ecological design can improve the quality of the living environment created by making full and reasonable use of resources. Ecological design applied to environmental art also has unique characteristics. The specific performance is as follows: (1) artistry. Designers usually take artistry as their main pursuit. Therefore, in the process of environmental art design, designers should be guided by the concept of ecological design, combining with the conditions and characteristics of the urban environment; designers should complete the design of environmental art design work; the design works not only conform to the laws of nature, but also, performance is very outstanding. (2) Naturalness. The naturalness as the basis of ecological design has very distinctive characteristics, which can be adapted to the impact of social development in a relatively short period of time. Designers who take meticulous carving as their main pursuit often have large deviations from the ecological design concept. It can be seen that environmental art emphasizes the comfortable and harmonious beauty between humans and nature [9].In order to integrate ecological concepts into the environmental art design process, designers should organically integrate the ecological environment with the living space of human beings [10]. To achieve the integration of ecological concepts and environmental art design, principles should be followed. (1) Art design should fully integrate public aesthetics. Environmental art is a highly personalized and unique artistic style that can highlight the space environment of a building. People should integrate aesthetic thinking and design concepts in the art field in the process of environmental art design, so that while highlighting the artistic aesthetic value of the work, make the created artwork conform to the basic principles of design aesthetics. (2) Follows objective regular. Related research shows that at the end of the 20th century, many environmental art design masters used the most primitive materials and resources in the process of designing their works, fully respected objective laws, integrated natural resources well, and maintained the sound development of the ecological environment. Many famous cities at home and abroad are built in compliance with the concept of nature. (3) Improve design and eliminate noise. In the design process, the designer must follow the following requirements. Firstly, make full use of and develop the original natural landscape; secondly, in the selection of materials, use recycled materials to reduce energy consumption; thirdly, waste materials after using should be reused rationally; finally, waste materials cannot be discarded at will, and they must be recycled. (4) Show characteristics of ecological aesthetics. With the development of social productivity and the improvement of people’s living standards and cultural level, contemporary environmental art design requires a return to nature. Ecological aesthetics require a high degree of integration of social civilization, human development, and ecological environment. Therefore, in the design process of environmental art, the materials that best demonstrate the characteristics of ecological aesthetics should be used first [11].There are a large number of examples on integration ecological concepts with environment art design [12]. They applied this technology in different fields. But two common points in their all studies can be concluded: (1) prefer recyclable natural materials. The basic principles of ecological concept can provide necessary theoretical guidance for environmental art design. In order to highlight the characteristics of ecological concepts in environmental art design works, designers need to process them through some means. The use of natural materials is a good way, and it is also the key to achieving this goal. Environmental art designers should choose corresponding natural materials according to specific environmental conditions, such as decorating the wall with shells, starfish, etc., in the ocean park, which can make the environment more suitable for the target theme and make people feel like being on the scene. (2) Pursuit of sustainable development theory. Environmental art design needs to uphold the concept of sustainable development and adhere to the concept of scientific development. In recent years, under the five-in-one ecological construction goal, ensuring an ecological and environmental protection of the building space has become a long-term trend. In other words, as a fashionable sunrise industry, the creative design industry can better tap Du Fu’s culture, make it more “local,” and conform to the requirements of the market of the times. However, this method of making Du Fu’s culture trendy does not mean blindly catering to the market. Instead, we should develop excellent culture on the basis of respect for market needs, optimize and fashion Du Fu culture with high-quality sincere market means, and realize cultural consciousness. For example, the Q version of Du Fu dolls launched by the Three Gorges Museum at the 2012 ICIF of China is the result of innovative entertainment, cartoonization, and personalization of Du Fu culture. The “Q version” trend is closely related and is a direct manifestation of culture serving the public. Among them, the designer combined the well-known image of Du Fu with modern entertainment dolls, so that poets such as Du Fu successfully transformed into modern Q version of the little people [13].In our study, we firstly compared some examples between China and abroad on integrating ecological concepts into kindergarten environmental art design and summarized the ecological design methods and design strategies; we summarized the indoor and outdoor design elements and main spaces, including the shape, material, and color related to the renovation of the building appearance; we discussed the environmental design of the kindergarten under the ecological design concept in view of the problems in the domestic kindergarten space environment goals and design principles. And then, we take the space environment of the “Chenguang” kindergarten in Beijing city, as the research object; through field investigation, the method of combining theory with practice was adopted. Ecological design was the guiding ideology; ecological landscape, ecological humanities, and ecological experience were the goals. The exterior of the building and the indoor and outdoor environment have been redesigned to create a kindergarten environment that mainly focused on children’s perspective, emphasized natural ecological experience, considered children’s physical and psychological states, and promoted children’s physical and mental development and communication.Our study is organized as follows. Study methods, contents, and research ideas are discussed in Section2; major results and discussion are presented in Section 3. Section 4 is the main conclusion of study.


## 2. Study Methods, Contents, and Ideas

### 2.1. Research Method and Contents

In our study, three methods were used to achieve our aim: (1) Literature review. Collect domestic and foreign kindergarten environmental design examples related research literature, journals, and books, understand the topic selection research and design status, provide scientific theoretical basis for thesis writing, and analyze, typical design cases to achieve theoretical and combining practical design; (2) practical investigation. Mainly investigate the representative kindergartens in Beijing, understand their architectural appearance and outdoor activity space, find out the current problems that need to be solved, take field photos and record their current situation during the field inspection, and understand specific circumstances of the kindergartens’ environment; (3) comparative analysis. The successful process and experience of domestic and foreign kindergarten construction and environmental design cases were compared and used for reference with the actual situation of Chenguang kindergarten design, and the methods and models suitable for local landscape construction were extracted. In the design, refer to the same type of kindergarten design plan and learn excellent design concepts and design ideas.This article is mainly based on the research of ecological design concept, and using this as the guiding ideology, the “Chenguang” kindergarten environment was transformed and designed, and study on how to fully reflect the ecological concept in the kindergarten environment design, achieve adaptive design, and meet the needs of children’s physical and mental development. Through the research on the characteristics, design elements and main space design of the kindergarten’s indoor and outdoor environment and build appearance transformation and summarize the environmental design goals and design principles of the kindergarten under the ecological design concept. Then, based on the concept of ecological design, the “Chenguang” kindergarten in Beijing city was taken as an example to design and transform to create a kindergarten area that is conducive for the physical and mental development of children.


### 2.2. Study Ideas

In order to effectively study the environmental renovation design of “Chenguang” kindergarten based on the ecological design concept, this topic firstly started with the core concept of the research theme, analyzed the current research status and design cases at home and abroad and the related concepts of the kindergarten space design, considered children psychological and behavioral characteristics, and analyzed the impact of kindergarten environment design on the growth of children from the aspects of cognitive learning development, social development, and character training. We summarized the indoor and outdoor design elements of the kindergarten and the main space design functions, including the application of materials, colors, and graphics related to the renovation of the architectural appearance; then, in view of the problems in the domestic kindergarten space environment design, the kindergarten environment design goals and principle under the ecological design concept were discussed and studied on relative theory. Workflow in our study is presented in Figure1.Figure 1
Workflow in our study.


## 2.1. Research Method and Contents

In our study, three methods were used to achieve our aim: (1) Literature review. Collect domestic and foreign kindergarten environmental design examples related research literature, journals, and books, understand the topic selection research and design status, provide scientific theoretical basis for thesis writing, and analyze, typical design cases to achieve theoretical and combining practical design; (2) practical investigation. Mainly investigate the representative kindergartens in Beijing, understand their architectural appearance and outdoor activity space, find out the current problems that need to be solved, take field photos and record their current situation during the field inspection, and understand specific circumstances of the kindergartens’ environment; (3) comparative analysis. The successful process and experience of domestic and foreign kindergarten construction and environmental design cases were compared and used for reference with the actual situation of Chenguang kindergarten design, and the methods and models suitable for local landscape construction were extracted. In the design, refer to the same type of kindergarten design plan and learn excellent design concepts and design ideas.This article is mainly based on the research of ecological design concept, and using this as the guiding ideology, the “Chenguang” kindergarten environment was transformed and designed, and study on how to fully reflect the ecological concept in the kindergarten environment design, achieve adaptive design, and meet the needs of children’s physical and mental development. Through the research on the characteristics, design elements and main space design of the kindergarten’s indoor and outdoor environment and build appearance transformation and summarize the environmental design goals and design principles of the kindergarten under the ecological design concept. Then, based on the concept of ecological design, the “Chenguang” kindergarten in Beijing city was taken as an example to design and transform to create a kindergarten area that is conducive for the physical and mental development of children.


## 2.2. Study Ideas

In order to effectively study the environmental renovation design of “Chenguang” kindergarten based on the ecological design concept, this topic firstly started with the core concept of the research theme, analyzed the current research status and design cases at home and abroad and the related concepts of the kindergarten space design, considered children psychological and behavioral characteristics, and analyzed the impact of kindergarten environment design on the growth of children from the aspects of cognitive learning development, social development, and character training. We summarized the indoor and outdoor design elements of the kindergarten and the main space design functions, including the application of materials, colors, and graphics related to the renovation of the architectural appearance; then, in view of the problems in the domestic kindergarten space environment design, the kindergarten environment design goals and principle under the ecological design concept were discussed and studied on relative theory. Workflow in our study is presented in Figure1.Figure 1
Workflow in our study.


## 3. Results and Discuss

### 3.1. Design Examples in China

From the perspective of design practice, there are many successful cases of domestic kindergarten environment design. For example, Beijing Siheyuan Kindergarten, Shanghai East China Normal University Bilingual Kindergarten, and the successful experience of Aibobi International Kindergarten design all reflect the importance of experience and ecology in the creation of the kindergarten environment; these successful examples provide a valuable reference for our study.Beijing Siheyuan Kindergarten was designed by MAD Architectural Design Office led by Ma Yansong. The main body of the project is a courtyard building which was built since 1725. With the theme of “floating roof, children’s world,” the rational use of resources was carried out on the premise of respecting and protecting historical and cultural relics. At the same time, it is in good condition with the surrounding ecological vegetation cohesion. The overall design environment of the kindergarten expands in a horizontal posture, transforming the limited roof space into an outdoor sports and activity platform to the greatest extent. Incorporating the natural design elements of “hills” and “plains” and flowing spatial layout created a free and inclusive space atmosphere; preserve the old trees in the original site, use the microtopography design, and combine transparent floor-to-ceiling glass so that a good landscape viewing effect will be created (Figure2).Figure 2
Partial profile of Beijing Siheyuan Kindergarten (comes fromhttps://www.gooood.cn).The courtyard from Shanghai East China Normal University Bilingual Kindergarten can enhance the cohesion of the family and communicate with the world and nature in this way. The project site was located in the new community south of Anting, Shanghai, and is one of the first public buildings to be constructed. The 7,400 square meters of land needs to accommodate 15 activity classes. The designer used the three-dimensional settlement design form of stacked honeycomb classroom units to create a children’s space environment with a natural urban courtyard. The design plan of the whole kindergarten complex is in the shape of “W,” and the corresponding retreat space design has the largest scale of natural lighting in the three directions of east, west, and south. The honeycomb-shaped combination can better adapt to the turning of the bevel. At the same time, the corridors in the garden were arranged along the edge of the hexagon, which can effectively meet the daily traffic. Teachers and students can walk along the winding corridors, passing through the courtyard and the entrance class. The overall material is mainly wood, giving people a warm feeling. The hexagonal corridor space connects various indoor and courtyard spaces in series, so that children can get more opportunities to interact with nature through the courtyard (Figure3).Figure 3
Structure profile from the courtyard from Shanghai East China Normal University Bilingual Kindergarten (comes fromhttps://www.gooood.cn).The Aibobi International Kindergarten site is located in a residential area of Shenzhen, surrounded by a good natural environment, aiming to transform the old and outdated buildings into an ecological, environmentally friendly, comfortable, and healthy contemporary education space. The space environment design of Aibobi International Kindergarten follows the “Montessori” educational philosophy proposed by the Italian educator Dr. Maria Montessori, which is to respect children’s nature and cultivate children’s conscious and active learning in the environment and the spirit of exploration. The overall design of the kindergarten used wood with clean white walls to create a harmonious and warm learning environment for children in the simplest way. The designer used concise lines as the design language to enhance children’s more intuitive spatial cognition brought by the linear space. The grasp of details in the design is also particularly important. In the renovation, attention is paid to the treatment of details such as stairs, handrails, doors, windows, and safe barrier-free passages, as well as the soft rubber on the ground and the slope design. From the perspective, respect the law of children’s growth and carry out adaptive design to create a teaching environment that enables children to develop in an all-round way (Figure4).Figure 4
Structure profile from the Aibobi International Kindergarten (comes fromhttps://www.gooood.cn).


### 3.2. Examples from Abroad

The education of children in foreign countries is generally based on open education, which encourages the cultivation of children’s creativity and autonomy in the environment. Since the mid-20th century, modern ecological environment design concepts have gradually been applied to various spatial environments. By the end of the 20th century, people have become more aware that “the stimulation of the environment on children’s sense organs is vital to children’s development.” Then, attention awareness of the kindergarten environment has begun to strengthen, and its typical research results include the “Model of Designing Children’s Center” by Fred and the Japanese “Kindergarten Design” (Japan Co., Ltd. New Architecture, 2011), which mentioned the impact of the environment on children growth; a good kindergarten environment can make children’s growth space more social; Frost’s “Children’s Games and Playing Environment” takes a wide range of outdoor activities for children as the research object and discusses on how to create an environment that is free, tends to nature, and is in line with children’s development. It can be seen in the environmental design of foreign kindergarten areas that more emphasis is placed on nature and nature, so that children and the environment form a subtle interaction. Its environmental design and architectural design forms are also tending to diversify. Typical practical cases are Japan’s Roppongatsu Kindergarten, Japan’s KM Kindergarten, and Denmark’s Red Kindergarten.Roppongatsu Kindergarten is located in a residential area in Fukuoka City, Japan. It can accommodate 90 children from 0 to 6 years old. The goal is to create a kindergarten that allows children to develop freely physically and mentally. The façade of the building is arranged in a sparse and uniform combination of “color tree branches.” The simple white exterior wall and large area of transparent glass make it clear and stand out in the architectural environment of the entire district. The large area of floor-to-ceiling glass gives people a comfortable sense of openness and keeps a distance from the outside world, allowing children to enjoy plenty of sunlight during classroom activities and at the same time strengthen the design of child safety protection (Figure5).Figure 5
Structure design for Roppongatsu Kindergarten of Japan (comes fromhttps://www.gooood.cn).Japan’s KM Kindergarten is located in Osaka, Japan. The original building is a ruined kindergarten. The owner asked the designer to redesign and remodel to solve basic problems such as children’s daily activities. The kindergarten creates a fluid space environment that indirectly guides children to outdoor sports. Part of the building is integrated with the playground full of ecological greenery through a ramp, which satisfies the normal traffic function while allowing children to get close to nature. Many spaces in the park are also designed with humanity, such as the cafeteria can be fully opened towards the playground, to form a seamless connection between the playground and the canteen, so that the architectural space and the natural ecology are integrated (Figure6).Figure 6
Structure design outlook for Japan’s KM Kindergarten (comes fromhttps://www.gooood.cn).Denmark’s Red Kindergarten site is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. This kindergarten has a prominent curved wall and an ecological green roof garden. It used local thin brick materials to decorate the facade of the building in the form of a grille. At the same time, the color name is lined to maintain the characteristics of the kindergarten building. The designer hopes to create a world-class day care center for children through this project and create the best learning and growth environment for children. The grid form of the transparent building satisfies the natural lighting and ventilation; an open children’s outdoor space is also set up in the atrium area to satisfy children’s curiosity for outdoor space and provide children with a free and happy growth atmosphere and a good learning environment (Figure7).Figure 7
Structure design profile of Denmark’s Red Kindergarten (comes fromhttps://www.gooood.cn).


### 3.3. Renovation Based on Ecological Concepts for “Chenguang” Kindergarten

The renovation design of Chenguang Kindergarten mainly renovated the environment from the perspective of “ecological landscape, ecological humanities, and ecological experience,” clarified functional divisions and improved the environment, and built a healthy and ecological park environment on the premise of satisfying its functions.The spatial layout of the outdoor landscape is not just a simple stacking of constituent elements, but a reasonable configuration and organic unity among various elements, focusing on coordinating the harmonious factors between people and the environment and creating a good spatial effect. In the process of outdoor environment design, rational landscape design was carried out with natural ecological elements, highlighting the natural ecological attributes of the kindergarten and meeting the needs of children’s own development.The overall indoor space layout was divided into a first-floor space layout and a second-floor space layout, which were connected to each other to meet the needs of different functions.At present, Chenguang Kindergarten has problems such as imperfect facilities and lack of features. The architectural image is dull and characteristic, and the outdoor environment function is not clear. The artificial lawn and large area of hard paving cannot meet the needs of the kindergarten’s ecological environment design. The building appearance needs to be changed. Coordinating with the outdoor environment space, combine the theme to optimize the transformation and redesign.In the process of designing the environment of the kindergarten area, it is necessary to fully consider the activity characteristics of children, try to ensure that there is a flat site, use steps or coexist with gentle slopes for places with height differences, and smoothly and excessively carry out barrier-free design.Our results show that core of building ecological kindergarten is combing design elements with regional culture, for example, humanities, environment, culture, and health. These are applicable not only for our study object-kindergarten but also are a helpful reference for urban environmental design. We can conclude from our study that urban environmental art design should follow the following: (1) focus on highlighting cultural characteristics, (2) reasonable planning of land resources, (3) cultivate professional talents of modern urban environmental art design, (4) adhere to the human-oriented design concept, (5) build a multilevel urban environmental system, and (6) scientific management of urban construction and environmental art design. Only do this can we create more innovative urban outlook.


## 3.1. Design Examples in China

From the perspective of design practice, there are many successful cases of domestic kindergarten environment design. For example, Beijing Siheyuan Kindergarten, Shanghai East China Normal University Bilingual Kindergarten, and the successful experience of Aibobi International Kindergarten design all reflect the importance of experience and ecology in the creation of the kindergarten environment; these successful examples provide a valuable reference for our study.Beijing Siheyuan Kindergarten was designed by MAD Architectural Design Office led by Ma Yansong. The main body of the project is a courtyard building which was built since 1725. With the theme of “floating roof, children’s world,” the rational use of resources was carried out on the premise of respecting and protecting historical and cultural relics. At the same time, it is in good condition with the surrounding ecological vegetation cohesion. The overall design environment of the kindergarten expands in a horizontal posture, transforming the limited roof space into an outdoor sports and activity platform to the greatest extent. Incorporating the natural design elements of “hills” and “plains” and flowing spatial layout created a free and inclusive space atmosphere; preserve the old trees in the original site, use the microtopography design, and combine transparent floor-to-ceiling glass so that a good landscape viewing effect will be created (Figure2).Figure 2
Partial profile of Beijing Siheyuan Kindergarten (comes fromhttps://www.gooood.cn).The courtyard from Shanghai East China Normal University Bilingual Kindergarten can enhance the cohesion of the family and communicate with the world and nature in this way. The project site was located in the new community south of Anting, Shanghai, and is one of the first public buildings to be constructed. The 7,400 square meters of land needs to accommodate 15 activity classes. The designer used the three-dimensional settlement design form of stacked honeycomb classroom units to create a children’s space environment with a natural urban courtyard. The design plan of the whole kindergarten complex is in the shape of “W,” and the corresponding retreat space design has the largest scale of natural lighting in the three directions of east, west, and south. The honeycomb-shaped combination can better adapt to the turning of the bevel. At the same time, the corridors in the garden were arranged along the edge of the hexagon, which can effectively meet the daily traffic. Teachers and students can walk along the winding corridors, passing through the courtyard and the entrance class. The overall material is mainly wood, giving people a warm feeling. The hexagonal corridor space connects various indoor and courtyard spaces in series, so that children can get more opportunities to interact with nature through the courtyard (Figure3).Figure 3
Structure profile from the courtyard from Shanghai East China Normal University Bilingual Kindergarten (comes fromhttps://www.gooood.cn).The Aibobi International Kindergarten site is located in a residential area of Shenzhen, surrounded by a good natural environment, aiming to transform the old and outdated buildings into an ecological, environmentally friendly, comfortable, and healthy contemporary education space. The space environment design of Aibobi International Kindergarten follows the “Montessori” educational philosophy proposed by the Italian educator Dr. Maria Montessori, which is to respect children’s nature and cultivate children’s conscious and active learning in the environment and the spirit of exploration. The overall design of the kindergarten used wood with clean white walls to create a harmonious and warm learning environment for children in the simplest way. The designer used concise lines as the design language to enhance children’s more intuitive spatial cognition brought by the linear space. The grasp of details in the design is also particularly important. In the renovation, attention is paid to the treatment of details such as stairs, handrails, doors, windows, and safe barrier-free passages, as well as the soft rubber on the ground and the slope design. From the perspective, respect the law of children’s growth and carry out adaptive design to create a teaching environment that enables children to develop in an all-round way (Figure4).Figure 4
Structure profile from the Aibobi International Kindergarten (comes fromhttps://www.gooood.cn).


## 3.2. Examples from Abroad

The education of children in foreign countries is generally based on open education, which encourages the cultivation of children’s creativity and autonomy in the environment. Since the mid-20th century, modern ecological environment design concepts have gradually been applied to various spatial environments. By the end of the 20th century, people have become more aware that “the stimulation of the environment on children’s sense organs is vital to children’s development.” Then, attention awareness of the kindergarten environment has begun to strengthen, and its typical research results include the “Model of Designing Children’s Center” by Fred and the Japanese “Kindergarten Design” (Japan Co., Ltd. New Architecture, 2011), which mentioned the impact of the environment on children growth; a good kindergarten environment can make children’s growth space more social; Frost’s “Children’s Games and Playing Environment” takes a wide range of outdoor activities for children as the research object and discusses on how to create an environment that is free, tends to nature, and is in line with children’s development. It can be seen in the environmental design of foreign kindergarten areas that more emphasis is placed on nature and nature, so that children and the environment form a subtle interaction. Its environmental design and architectural design forms are also tending to diversify. Typical practical cases are Japan’s Roppongatsu Kindergarten, Japan’s KM Kindergarten, and Denmark’s Red Kindergarten.Roppongatsu Kindergarten is located in a residential area in Fukuoka City, Japan. It can accommodate 90 children from 0 to 6 years old. The goal is to create a kindergarten that allows children to develop freely physically and mentally. The façade of the building is arranged in a sparse and uniform combination of “color tree branches.” The simple white exterior wall and large area of transparent glass make it clear and stand out in the architectural environment of the entire district. The large area of floor-to-ceiling glass gives people a comfortable sense of openness and keeps a distance from the outside world, allowing children to enjoy plenty of sunlight during classroom activities and at the same time strengthen the design of child safety protection (Figure5).Figure 5
Structure design for Roppongatsu Kindergarten of Japan (comes fromhttps://www.gooood.cn).Japan’s KM Kindergarten is located in Osaka, Japan. The original building is a ruined kindergarten. The owner asked the designer to redesign and remodel to solve basic problems such as children’s daily activities. The kindergarten creates a fluid space environment that indirectly guides children to outdoor sports. Part of the building is integrated with the playground full of ecological greenery through a ramp, which satisfies the normal traffic function while allowing children to get close to nature. Many spaces in the park are also designed with humanity, such as the cafeteria can be fully opened towards the playground, to form a seamless connection between the playground and the canteen, so that the architectural space and the natural ecology are integrated (Figure6).Figure 6
Structure design outlook for Japan’s KM Kindergarten (comes fromhttps://www.gooood.cn).Denmark’s Red Kindergarten site is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. This kindergarten has a prominent curved wall and an ecological green roof garden. It used local thin brick materials to decorate the facade of the building in the form of a grille. At the same time, the color name is lined to maintain the characteristics of the kindergarten building. The designer hopes to create a world-class day care center for children through this project and create the best learning and growth environment for children. The grid form of the transparent building satisfies the natural lighting and ventilation; an open children’s outdoor space is also set up in the atrium area to satisfy children’s curiosity for outdoor space and provide children with a free and happy growth atmosphere and a good learning environment (Figure7).Figure 7
Structure design profile of Denmark’s Red Kindergarten (comes fromhttps://www.gooood.cn).


## 3.3. Renovation Based on Ecological Concepts for “Chenguang” Kindergarten

The renovation design of Chenguang Kindergarten mainly renovated the environment from the perspective of “ecological landscape, ecological humanities, and ecological experience,” clarified functional divisions and improved the environment, and built a healthy and ecological park environment on the premise of satisfying its functions.The spatial layout of the outdoor landscape is not just a simple stacking of constituent elements, but a reasonable configuration and organic unity among various elements, focusing on coordinating the harmonious factors between people and the environment and creating a good spatial effect. In the process of outdoor environment design, rational landscape design was carried out with natural ecological elements, highlighting the natural ecological attributes of the kindergarten and meeting the needs of children’s own development.The overall indoor space layout was divided into a first-floor space layout and a second-floor space layout, which were connected to each other to meet the needs of different functions.At present, Chenguang Kindergarten has problems such as imperfect facilities and lack of features. The architectural image is dull and characteristic, and the outdoor environment function is not clear. The artificial lawn and large area of hard paving cannot meet the needs of the kindergarten’s ecological environment design. The building appearance needs to be changed. Coordinating with the outdoor environment space, combine the theme to optimize the transformation and redesign.In the process of designing the environment of the kindergarten area, it is necessary to fully consider the activity characteristics of children, try to ensure that there is a flat site, use steps or coexist with gentle slopes for places with height differences, and smoothly and excessively carry out barrier-free design.Our results show that core of building ecological kindergarten is combing design elements with regional culture, for example, humanities, environment, culture, and health. These are applicable not only for our study object-kindergarten but also are a helpful reference for urban environmental design. We can conclude from our study that urban environmental art design should follow the following: (1) focus on highlighting cultural characteristics, (2) reasonable planning of land resources, (3) cultivate professional talents of modern urban environmental art design, (4) adhere to the human-oriented design concept, (5) build a multilevel urban environmental system, and (6) scientific management of urban construction and environmental art design. Only do this can we create more innovative urban outlook.


## 4. Conclusions

Based on the perspective of ecological concepts, this article has carried out research and practice on the kindergarten environment design. On the basis of our result, design principle and methods can be used for urban environmental art design. First, we summarized the current situation of domestic and foreign kindergarten environmental design; second, the problems and shortcomings of domestic kindergartens were presented. Finally, we combined theory with practice, taking Beijing “Chenguang” kindergarten space environment transformation as the design object; according to the status quo and problems, the kindergarten environment design goals and strategies were proposed. In the design process, with the goal of “ecological landscape, ecological humanities, and ecological experience,” we strive to create learning with children an ecologically comfortable kindergarten area that is integrated with the growth environment. At the same time, through the practical application of ecological design concepts, people will be inspired to pay attention to and experience the ecology and natural environment and create a beautiful and happy life.



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*Source: 8034930-2022-02-08.xml*