The Sanctuary Within: 43°18'43.5"N 5°22'49.1"E
Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.
- Kay Redfield Jamison
Marseille is a port city located in the south of France and is home to many beautiful natural environments, such as the Mediterranean Sea and mountain ranges, including national parks Sainte-Baume and Mont Saint Victoire.
Despite these natural spectacles, the fact that it is dangerous for children to run around and play outside is a critical defect. The mass immigration of foreign workers at the beginning of the 19th century, the financial crises and restructuring of large industrial groups in the 19th century, and the restructuring of large industrial groups in the 1970s led to mass unemployment for the natives, which in turn led to racial hostility against the foreigners. This collision between the respective cultures has become an increasingly serious issue to the point where shooting and drug dealing cases have become less and less shocking. In addition, an increasing number of crime cases have been against children, increasing the need for safety. Crime data shows that Marseille has one of the highest crime rates in the whole of Europe, and the 3rd arrondissement of Marseille, where our site is located, is one of the most dangerous districts in the city. This makes protecting the children from the outside a critical issue.
1. The development of electronic machinery has caused children to stay at home for longer hours. More and more time is spent inside than outside, staring at a digital screen rather than running about playing sports with friends.
This outdoor activity that is becoming more and more sparse is the exact thing that children need today. Running around and doing various activities outside gives children a sense of physical and psychological protection, and in turn, stimulates creative thinking as well. It helps to reduce negative emotions such as anxiety and improves concentration, which can also stimulate creative thinking. Our project provides a 'safe' space where children can run around and play.
2. Our project aims to create a 'fortress' and simultaneously playground' for the children. The principle of brutalism is well and alive in the area, with most people considering the Unite d'Habitation by Le Corbusier the grandmother of brutalist architecture. Like the predecessors, the simplicity of using material in its purest form is reflected in the project. The façade has vertical and horizontal elements that create an image of a stronghold, where children can be protected from outside hostility. This makes to life the seemingly impossible 'brutalist kindergarten' oxymoron.
3. The inside is a much cozier space. Every child has experiences of creating their fortress by hanging a blanket from a few chairs, where they read books or play games with their friends, using it as their hide-out... thus creating their own 'landscape' - the concept of our project has multiple meanings. Marseille is famous for the Mediterranean Sea and its seaports, but towards the inland, you can find various mountain terrains and cliffs. The 'landscape' of the project, which seems like a sinkhole, is the shape of a mountain terrain turned upside-down. It also is a metaphor for children creating their 'landscape' of life.
4. Our project, which seems to be a physically imposing structure because of the rigid elements, houses a flowing curvature that creates various cave-like and valley-like spaces where children can run around and hide away. The children's exploration of these various spaces can nurture creativity. Also, a large open area is located above the landscape where various outdoor activities can occur.
The spaces are designed according to the vertical columns to emphasize the curvature inside the project. This leads to a symmetrical floor plan, where additional changes in the size of rooms and the round walls are used to break the symmetry and create spaces of various characteristics. The landscape occupies a much larger area on the second floor compared to the first and creates more variety of spaces where children can run and, in some cases, crawl around. The floor is divided into areas of bookshelves, tables, and slides. It is unique in that the space is not divided rigidly by inside wall partitions, but rather is divided softly by the landscape. The landscape is not unique because of the division, but more so the connection between the inside and outside space. The 3 pathways lead to the rooftop garden, and each has unique shapes
