CHILDREN'S UNIVERSITY

Children University site is located in-between AGU and Student Village. Approaching the site, you would be greeted by its own natural greenery texture. Aware Kid's Village with the small, 1-2 stories houses with pitched roofs and brick facades grew from and ultimately belong to the neighborhood. This "MINI-VILLAGE" aimed to create a building cluster with required building volume broken down to house-like pieces, integrated by the central multifunctional open space.

The area is seen as a bridge between AGU and the student village. This physical bridge has been brought together functionally under the umbrella of the SDG. Together with "MINI VILLAGE", it was aimed to be involved in Agu sustainable development goals and club activities and to bring together university students in the student village and children on common ground. This 3rd generation children's university has adopted the same mission with the AGU, which is "seeking solutions to global challenges and aiming at developing citizens who can contribute to societies and shape the future." In pursuit of this objective, there are traces of both the student village and the AGU on the form of the building. This strengthens the sense of belonging.

The appropriate curriculum of the project was a crucial starting point of this design and led me in creating separate building blocks by making a group according to the Ecological, Technological, and Social goals of SDG. Separating functions brought with it the challenge of properly connect them. This was provided by both indoor and outdoor circulation paths around the courtyard with a 45-degree rotation of the courtyard. Indoor corridors can be used as breakout areas, while the terrace allowed children to enjoy the open air. This Aware Kid's Village functions as a smaller, slightly modified version of the village, of which the scale gives the children a sense of familiarity and the interesting building relationships introduce novelty and encourage curiosity.

The building became not only a pleasure land for children but an easy gathering place for the public. Parents, neighbors, AGU Clubs tend to visit the organized exhibitions. For this reason, two main entrances were designed. One is the private entrance used by students and teachers and is connected to the educational houses and the administration building. However, when you enter through the public entrance; foyer, cafeteria, auditorium, library, and dining hall greet you. All these areas are connected to the other entrance as they are open to common use. But the terrace is reserved for students only. Aware Kid's University, the second-floor pathways are not just connections between areas, they are also combined together into a platform of explorations for children. Once you are up on the second-floor platform your experience is suddenly overtaken by the dynamic slopes of the roofs with skylights. The built environment suddenly feels like an Erciyes Mount and the treetops are within a hand’s reach. This little shift of perspective enables the children to see their surrounding in a different frame and expand their everyday spatial experience. The materials used for facades are bricks combined with white plaster, creating different faces of each “house”. The excessive use of transparent on the façade was prevented by shading elements. Truss systems and hollow floor tiles were used to provide interior design freedom in wide-span space. Finally modular and unique playground was designed in the open area. While children meander in between the “houses” they discover small, secret, perfect for outdoor learning activities and playing Hide-and-Seek, just like what they always do in the villages.

Thanks to Aware-Kid's Village,  children would feel familiar, free and identify it as their second home.