Nursery School Jászberény

This project is a winning competition entry on designing a new Nursery School in Jászberény, Hungary organized by the Municipality of Jászberény in 2005. The new central Nursery School is intended to replace four smaller existing nurseries. The unusually shaped site – the site is actually an enclosure embedded in a traditional residential area, basically the backyards of the houses which the Municipality bought up year after year – and the Local Building Codes inspired a very compact volume which can be functionally extremely efficient and gives the opportunity to keep the garden as big as possible.

The architectural concept is based on a longitudinal circulation axis which tries to transform the classic middle corridor system into a lively chain of public used spaces. Along the axis the spaces are becoming more and more intimate. It is not just a corridor this is the space of human interaction – children playing here when the weather is not good in enough being outside; parents meeting here during the morning arrival time. It is also a visual axis leading to the garden and giving a clear impression for the visitor right at the first sight. The central space is including an atrium which provides the natural light for the space and can be used for outdoor activities also.

During the design of the activity rooms the aim was to create differentiated spaces. Using mezzanines already divides the space for two separated parts which makes possible to use the rooms for completely different activities in the same time. Providing all activity rooms direct access to the garden was another important issue. So as the extension of the interior all rooms have their open terrace.

After the competition during the different design phases the building kept is basic concept completely but the volume and the facades had to be changed in order to meet the requirements of the Local Building Codes. Due to these changes it was possible to complete the building with a large rooftop terrace on the first floor. The terrace can be interpreted as the extension of the mezzanines of the activity rooms. Also the functional layout of the building became more sophisticated and efficient. The building is under construction.

competition elevation east I elevation north

competition elevation north

ground floor

first floor

elevation north

elevation south

elevation west
Nursery School- Jászberény, Hungary
nursery school for 8 classes - competition (first prize), concept design, planning application and documentation, execution design, workshop drawings, interior design
under construction

position: architect, project architect

design: 2005-2010
gross floor area: 2 500 sqm
architecture, interior design: Opaq Architect Studio
Kamarás Bálint, Kiss Ida, Matúz Melinda, Németh Tamás, Szabó-Petanec Nándor
client: Municipality of Jászberény