Children's Grove on the hill
Located in the southern part of Újbuda hills, between the prefabricated apartment blocks from the socialist era and a modern housing area of real estate developers, Madárhegy has been populated mainly with small garden apartment buildings in the last ten years. Many of the new residents are families with children, so there was a significant demand for children's facilities. Recognising this, the municipality has planned a development including a nursery, kindergarten, a paediatric clinic and a public playground. The architects and landscape architects wanted the design to evoke the original grove feel of the site. Thus the "children's grove" was born.
The site is divided into functional courtyards by the mass of buildings, separating the different areas of use: the nursery and kindergarten courtyards, the playground or the recreational garden. To help the children find their way around, the upper storeys of the buildings are different in shape and in the colour of their glazed ceramic tiles. This creates a distinction between the functional units that is clearly visible to children.
The buildings have been given large glass surfaces to promote transparency and active interaction with the outside environment. Yet inside, there is a cozy atmosphere, as if you are just hiding somewhere in nature. This is also reinforced by the predominance of natural materials used in the interior and in the structure: wood, ceramic tiles, wooden windows and doors, wooden furniture, thick ceramic walls with good thermal insulation and wooden roofs that appear here and there. A small ecological footprint, innovative solutions, a beehive - a building that can be educational in environmental awareness.
The design scheme also included the creation of a community space, marked by a two-storey wooden structure that serves as a kindergarten lobby as well. In addition to the usual developmental rooms, the nursery function will also include a teaching kitchen, a workshop and a salt room. These spaces will further enhance the overall comfort and make the caretakers’ and children’s daily lives more vibrant.
