In Japan, due to changes in family structures such as the rising number of dual-income households, the need to provide places for children has become urgent. It has also been pointed out that the weakening of relationships within local communities has kept child-rearing families in isolation. The support by society of child-rearing is therefore a problem to be addressed. It can be said that the “children’s center” has great potential as a local facility intended not only for children, but also open to generations centering around children.
However, studies on the architectural planning of children’s centers to date have not yielded comprehensive, fruitful results based on behavioral analysis of children’s free play and parent and children play. These are the types of play assumed to be the most basic activities in small and medium-sized children’s centers, which are the most common such facilities.
This study aims to clarify behavioral characteristics specific to children’s centers through research of environment behavior, and to gather knowledge that will contribute to the architectural planning of children’s centers in the future. As to its methodology, the study was conducted in three steps, as follows.
1. (Chapter 2) In prefecture X, based on information provided by municipalities, the status of availability and usage of children’s centers was established. From among the facilities found, the facilities to be investigated in the subsequent chapters were selected.
2. (Chapter 3) By executing research based on behavioral observation, the actual usage of children’s centers was identified, to clarify the usage characteristics.
3. (Chapter 4) Interrelationships were identified between actual usage and the characteristics of activities, and the facilities’ environments such as their spatial characteristics, locations, and management conditions, in order to consider spatial planning appropriate to behaviors.
The major results obtained in this study are as follows. The number of users per unit area used as a guide was about 37 persons/m2. The duration of play was about five minutes; the place or type of play changed within short intervals of time. Activity groups were small, with the number of children participating in one activity being 1.9 on average, and the activity area being 2 m2 or less. The free play activities could be roughly divided into three categories: “Active play,” “Play while sitting on the floor,” and “Activity by settling oneself, such as learning.” A mixture of these three activities limited the use of children’s centers by small children. By providing a variety of spaces where a wide range of activities could be performed, the number of users other than children increased.
