As part of a reorganisation of Hausvogteiplatz in the inner-city Mitte district of Berlin, a building housing two children’s day nurseries was demolished to make way for a smaller new building. The compact form of the new structure, relatively atypical for this type of project, arose in response to the neighbouring city-block development in the north and the linear development in the south of the district. Despite its small volume this clearly defined structure nevertheless makes it mark in the urban environment. To open up a garden area in the closed cube, a stepped inner courtyard was laid out in the centre of the building. Via an external staircase and two terraces all storeys are thus linked with the courtyard garden. Light-coloured exposed concrete is used on the courtyard walls, while the rendered outer facades are dark red. A special feature of the project is the oriel-like projections on all sides, which give plasticity and structure to the facades whilst also providing the children with play niches inside the building. At just 1.20 m high, these niches are reserved exclusively for the children. Spatially the niches are marked out by raising them slightly above floor level, and they are clad on the inside with red-painted wood. The corridors, at 2.60 m considerably wider than normal, are also intended as playing areas. The window reveals here are kept low, so the children can use them as benches.