Fairy Tale Kindergarten, Budapest, Angyalföld

Architect: Csaba Nagy
Text: Miklós Okrutay
Photos: Tamás Bujnovszky

When making calculations for the extensions required by the kindergarten in Angyalföld (a district of Budapest) a decision was made to have a new building built, most probably after a longish dispute. As a result, however, the principle of configuration which in a sense was the most precious part of the building formerly standing on the same site has been preserved. The mass of the building has been shifted towards the busier street, the development actually follows the original scheme, leaving the garden on the more tranquil and protected side. The building site had been chosen in advance, but mass formation has been turned into a vehicle of conveying new architectural concepts in a highly characteristic way. Being designed within an enclosed regular cube, a system of crystallized forms has been created here. However, by piercing the surfaces, the house has turned into an almost non-material structure freed from the burdens of tectonics. Openings are typically square-shaped in various sizes, in a configuration seemingly random, with glass surfaces alternating with pierced ones. Another delicate and refined means was the careful choice of the colour scheme: along the positive edge, white as an alternative colour is shown in a unique way, like a membrane, especially on the retracted plane starting at the main entrance. As a result, the facade does not appear as a wall but a shell with an ultimately light appearance. Graphic art pieces hung on the walls create a spatiality with forests, giant mushrooms, a mouse playing the flute, whales swimming along the stairs, clouds and kite, thanks to which children’s fantasy can filter the walls unhindered. It is not a house but a magic box indeed, filled with secret passages of a world waiting to be explored.

Design: ARCHIKON Építésziroda
Leading architects: Csaba Nagy, Károly Pólus
Fellow architects: Ádám Pásztor, Tamás Kiss, Ágnes Tőrös, Bence Várhidi
Graphic design: Tímea Ferth
Paintings: Zsuzsanna Herling
Structure: Tibor Pintér – ÉKI TERV Mérnökiroda Kft.
HVAC: Zoltán Sor, József Kiss – PHQ Kft.
Electrical engineering: István Karácsony – Kartel 60 Bt.
Fire protection: György Decsi – Fireeng Kft.
Framework, insulation: Csaba Czégeni
Passive house expert: Imre Miskolczy – Miskolczy Energiaterv Kft.
Kitchen technology: Gizella Kuruczné Szabolcs – Design Stúdió Kft.
Gardening: Eszter Barna – Barna Irodaház Kft.
Client: Budapest Főváros XIII. Kerületi Önkormányzat / XIII. Kerületi Közszolgáltató Zrt.
Main contractor: FK Raszter Építő Zrt.