Training centre for craft production

The building, located in the centre of Tornaľa town, was initially conceived as a kindergarten. It fulfilled several functions and underwent various renovations, but it was always used for educational purposes. After the closure of a nearby grammar school, the building became redundant and derelict. We aim to revitalise the building and maintain its educational purpose so its operation positively impacts the local community’s life.

The town of Tornaľa is located in the region with one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. The building, after its renovation, will become a training centre for craft production. With this project, we aim to support the local community and boost their chances on the job market.

 

Our proposal includes two workrooms: a tailor’s workroom and a one for construction work. The main building will be complemented by an attached shelter for training of masons and carpenters outdoors.

The tailors will find their placement in the local manufactory. The courses of construction will train future masons and carpenters. Those graduates will find their place in building affordable housing.

The building will be used for students of a nearby secondary vocational school, and additionally, it will serve for retraining of adults.

Our project of the new training centre aims to make the demographically declining town a sustainable place with opportunities for all of its citizens.

 

One of the proposed revitalisation principles is to preserve the building’s proportions and original details and their architectural and aesthetic qualities.  In our design, the original volume of the kindergarten is stripped of later extensions that show minor static defects.

 The building’s past reconstructions inspired our architectural concept of presenting the individual stages of the building’s history on its facade. The facade will be covered by plaster with two kinds of surface textures revealing the original dispositions of the building’s constructions and openings. The proposed textured plaster is smoothed on the plinth and in the parts of the facade where the building’s openings were bricked up or the wall was in contact with other building structures in the past. The other parts of the building’s surface are covered by textured plaster combined with a combed pattern - vertical strips. This way, we can present the modifications the building has undergone in the past while maintaining the same colour and material base on the entire facade. The interiors will also feature places where there were partitions in the past. These places on the walls, floors and ceilings will be differentiated by colour. We aim to attract visitors with the unique facade and make them think about the concept of the building.

The concept of presenting the building’s historical development was chosen because the building will be used for educational purposes in the field of construction work.

The building itself can thus serve as an educational tool. A teacher can demonstrate the modifications and impacts of various construction processes directly on the building.

Similarly, in environmental courses, teachers will have the opportunity to provide a hands-on demonstration of the roofing layers and the roof’s maintenance. The training centre’s roof will be the first hip green roof with surface drip irrigation in Slovakia.

 

Creating new vegetation areas on the roof and in the courtyard of the building, we help the city better adapt to climate change, improve the local microclimate and provide an aesthetically attractive space for community gathering.