2016/ Education Centre – Vác, Category A
The design site is located in Hungary, 30 km from Budapest in the City of Vác at the Danube Bend. This is a diploma project which concentrates on an education and sports centre area located in the outskirts of Vác. The site is placed in a 2 hectare, flat, empty area which is partly misused as a parking lot. My design was based on the regular movement of the students which is visible in the grass. The main challenge was the lack of other functions such as café, shops and a nice public park or square was also missing. The area is a frequented place mainly used by students ( ~ 3000 visitor daily) since three high schools, a sports hall and a dormitory building situated here.
My aim was to create a unique and adaptable square which acts as a FORUM for the students and at the same time able to react to the continuously changing circumstances in this area. The most important thing was to combine the education and sport functions with additional programs and recreational opportunities. In my concept I extended the entrance areas of the educational institutions and created smaller squares which all have an individual name and also differences in use.
These squares are the following ones: Pavilion Square, Madách Square and Chilling Zone.
The “Pavilion Square” is a café and meeting place with a contemporary café pavilion building and the calming presence of water. I also differentiated a smaller “Skater’s Area” close to it which is a place for the skateboarders with in situ concrete elements and some benches.
The “Madách Square” is also an important meeting point with water jets, elevated flowerbeds, and some smaller sport tools for spontaneous use. These equipments are also useful for the students who have lot of energy since it aims to prevent the future vandalism.
The “Stage Park” with a two meter high hill is a place for outdoor cinema and many other programs such as festivals, or concerts.
The “Chilling Zone” is an area for gathering and recreation with canvas shade elements and benches, while the “Floating Islands Park” is a calm, green park for relaxing, picnic and studying.
To ensure the use of this area I made some suggestion for the future programs such as Forum Festival, thematic movie nights and sport competitions which are all attracting more users for the afternoon use.
