Magnificent downtown Budapest square to be renewed

Hild Square in the 5th District, which is under renovation, did not exist as a public space at all earlier. The park will now be equipped with a public toilet, new benches, a community library and an accessible playground. The renovated area will be open to the public in the autumn.

The Municipality of the Capital (Főváros Önkormányzata) has handed over the responsibility for the operation of Hild Square to the Municipality of the City Centre (Belváros Önkormányzata), without providing any financial resources, to establish a community space for all age groups within it.

The Municipality of the City Centre voluntarily undertook the renovation with its own financial resources. They took into consideration the needs of the citizens, paying particular attention to the families living there. The primary target audience will be the 5th District and the community of the neighbouring kindergarten.

“By autumn 2023, we will have an age-neutral community space. It will be accessible and adapted to the needs of children with special needs. As part of our green approach, we will use unique solutions such as green roofs and vertical green space. We will also pay attention to water-saving solutions as part of our blue approach. 13 new trees will be planted, and the overall green area in the park will be increased from 24 to 37 percent, for a total of 851 m2 of space.

The playground will be decorated with the heroes of the Kuflik fairy tales, with play elements designed with the involvement of author András Dániel. Hild Square will be equipped with a public toilet, a baby changer table, a child-friendly drinking fountain and a humidifier. A ping-pong table, new benches, a community library, bicycle storage, waste bins, renewed public lighting, lockable gates and a 0-24-hour CCTV security system will also be established,” Péter Szentgyörgyvölgyi posted on Facebook.

Hild Square becomes green and climate-conscious

Due to management problems in the preceding years, the square and its playground needed a complete renovation. According to PestBuda, the district opposition’s approach that a few basic playground equipment, swings and climbing frames would be sufficient is contradictory to the green and climate-conscious development strategy of the Municipality of the City Centre.

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In the climate-conscious approach, efforts have also been made to use green and water-saving solutions. This will be achieved by a water-waste-free automatic irrigation system that will provide water for the greenery using groundwater and rainwater. 13 new trees will be planted, some of which will be 15-20 metres tall, providing shade for the visitors. The green roof does not require a great deal of maintenance due to its undemanding nature. The planted bus stop has already been handed over in 2022, together with 11 other green bus stops. This initiative is part of the greening programme of bus stops in the district.

Photo: Facebook/Kuflik, Dosa Ibolya

Author András Dániel, who contributed to the design of the playground’s elements by creating the Kuflik tales, has also been involved in designing the playground of the renewed 5th District Hild Square public park with his fantasy heroes.

Complicating factors in the renewal

One of the complicating factors is that several utility reconstruction projects have become due in the area. A greater complicating factor, however, is that the site of the project was occupied by a telephone exchange building earlier. The remains of it have been demolished but the basement level has only been buried. The complete removal of the remains would threaten the trees, therefore, the rehabilitation of the site will not be complete. Instead, the area will be completely replaced with soil to a depth of 2,500 mm. This will not yet endanger the trees and their stability, and will be carried out by using special technology under the supervision of a tree specialist.

The developments of the Municipality of the City Centre have won both domestic and international awards. They hope that after the renovation, this community space will become a new favourite hangout spot for the residents.

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Source: pestbuda.hu