The project emphasises the playful spirit for children and community enhancement and also the connection to the village's historical past.

For my concept, I will explore the palimpsestic layers of history, including local vernaculars, to create a unique contemporary language of architecture in a way that respects the past and informs the future. Developing a very intimate relationship with the existing site and community, through extensive research of the history, I discovered a lot of information on the miner communities as well as an abundant prevalence of children in the village. Therefore I selected the site - the concrete plateau on the North-West corner of the village, as my focus of regeneration and development.

From the beginning, I intended to make the village thrive again through the lens of the play. However, considering the site, my desire to respect the town’s history led me to do profound research on it. The palimpsest became an essential part of my concept as I was trying to uncover tangible and intangible layers of history, rediscovering the footprints of the past and doing so through the lens of play.

The program consists of four main parts:
The first part of the program focuses on play. The kindergarten is designed with various intersecting levels and paths in order to encourage exploration. The kindergarten is constructed in two subterranean levels with one opening to the valley and the other leading to the circular courtyard.
The second part on the program focuses on community gardens and green space. This includes a nursery cafe and the green roof. Both are social spaces.
The third part of the program focuses on the co-housing design for young families. The accommodations consist of flats designed for various budgets.
The fourth part of the program focuses on co-working spaces designed to accommodate remote work and flexible work hours. This space provides views to the valley and the river, thus creating an inspirational and calm environment for work. The co-working environment addresses the client’s request for enhanced community opportunities.

The overall unifying concept of this project contains elements of palimpsest, historical mapping, historical events, vernaculars, and artifacts. It emphasises the playful spirit for children, community enhancement, green space, and also the connection to the historical past of the village, expressing hope for the future.