LAUSR

The COVID-19 era is bringing changes to different parts of everyday life, redefining what people used to consider normal. As the world deals with this highly contagious disease, the issue of the built environment, buildings, their architecture and possible relations among their characteristics and the spread of the virus remains unclear. Preschool and school education is an essential part of society. However, with the spread of COVID-19, kindergartens and schools keep on partly or fully closing and reopening, trying to provide a safe and healthy environment for children. Instructions and recommendations from different experts and organisations worldwide were announced in terms of how to adjust the functioning of kindergartens in conditions of the uncontrolled spread of COVID-19. The measures include organisational and hygiene measures. Organisational measures are closely related to the architectural design of a building. At this point, the main question of this research was raised: is there any relation between the architectural characteristics of kindergartens and the spread of the new coronavirus in them? The research examined the architectural characteristics of kindergartens in Slovenia with reported COVID-19 cases among staff or children.