The project is devoted to the third Ronald McDonald House in Poland — a free hotel for families of hospitalized children. The author decided to locate the facility near the Supra-regional Centre for Pediatric Oncology Cape of Hope in Wroclaw.
The project aims at creating a space that would mitigate the consequences of the family problems arising from the illness of a child. Thus, the user’s needs are at the center of the design work. The facility is divided into three separate but coexisting functionalities: living, working, and studying. This functional separation is clearly defined in the body of the building.
The project places a great emphasis on the space zoning (private, semi-private, public) and establishing a hierarchy for the spaces that are relevant for the social integration process — starting from multifunctional spaces that are dedicated to particular groups of people,and ending up with public spaces that function as the core of building human relationships. Each functionality is constructed in such a way as to enable it to be easily configured.
Another important aspect to be considered is the environmental impact of the building throughout its entire life cycle. The author adopted several solutions. It was also attempted to create the impression of the building in the middle of a park in order to separate it from the chores of hospital reality. Besides, greenery is integrated into the interior of the building, making it a part of users’ everyday interactions.
The building incorporates social, environmental, and economic dimensions of sustainable development.