The Bartlett
School of Architecture
Summer Show 2020
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The Hill Kindergarten

Project details

Student Xintong Chen
Programme
Unit UG12
Year 2

Surrounded by pastel coloured building blocks and courtyards, 'The Hill Kindergarten' is located at one of the major junctions in the residential area of Vinohrady, Prague 10.


In Prague, courtyards inside the residential blocks are the primary assembling location for local parents and children. As communities congregate in the courtyards, public green spaces such as the building site are often left underused with people only passing by. The local area lacks a place for assembly that can bring separate communities together.


Therefore, the design proposes an urban playground that facilitates both the adults and children in the area, and to serve as a community hub for Czech parents who are not on a parental leave.


The building functions as a daycare centre in daytime and transforms into a community folk music hub at night, providing an intergenerational assembly space. The design aims to integrate the architecture into the landscape, using the roof surface as the second layer of ground, as well as creating half storeys to generate new spatial opportunities. The architecture itself also serves as a playground, which encourages the children to interact with the architecture and to build their own landscape.

Bridging the Communities

The design aims to tap the potential of roof space and the opportunity of landscape in order to bridge the self-contained courtyards and bring life to the green spaces within the area.

Panels

The transformable panels are designed to function as practical furniture such as screens and tables, as well as playful furniture such as climbing units and slides.

Creating the Playscape

The façade of the building consists of fabric netting and timber studs to create a new typology for play. It encourages the children to build their own landscape.

An Urban Playground

The height differences in the roof enable the building to be transformed into an artificial landscape and create an architectural interplay between the half storeys.

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