Orientation made easy for children

Numerous different animals from five continents - sleeping, singing, running, big, small and even baby animals - form the basis of the refreshingly cheerful and colourful wayfinding system for the newly-built primary school on Karl-Marx-Ring in Munich. The templates for the animal images were created in a workshop conceived and led by architectural illustrator Sabine Heine with 25 third graders from the existing school, which had become too small.

They drew 200 A3 sheets with almost 1000 individual motifs. The illustrator went through them all, sorted them and selected around 100 animal motifs. She then recomposed and vectorised the images, only making minor corrections and line thickness adjustments. All the animals are now at home in the primary school and help the youngsters find their way around.

Jumping, flying and galloping animals show them the way to the sports hall, while voracious fish make themselves at home in the cafeteria. Each floor of the primary school is dedicated to a continent and its specific wildlife, helping the children identify themselves with the site and their classrooms.

The signage concept is continued in the neighbouring House of the Children: In this day-care centre, baby animals welcome the infants and can also be found inside the building, while next door, songbirds are used to indicate the use of the building by the music school.

The little artists have also found a place in the school: Their names have been immortalised in the cafeteria, reminding us that they have made a significant contribution to the creation of this cheerful and child-friendly concept.

Signage: Sabine Heine

Photos: Aldo Amoretti, Sabine Heine

More about the project