Cars underground

In the case of larger, multi-building, multi-apartment residential complexes, most developers follow the same pattern: a traditional road network is built between the buildings, with streets, sidewalks and parking spaces. This is a relatively simple solution, and most do not think that there would be any problem with it, or it could be done differently. Yet the streets separate the buildings, break up the housing estate, which thus cannot function as a true amalgamated community. On the surface, the asphalt, or at best the paving stone are dominant, the valuable green areas shrink into small islands. In the course of our work, we have long recognized that the surface should be reserved for gardens and passers-by, primarily for those living in the residential park, and we have designed several of our previous residential parks in the spirit of this concept. In Metrodom Park or Metrodom Őrmező we created a closed park between the buildings, and in the case of Metrodom Panorama, which serves as a city center, we created pedestrian spaces and pedestrian streets, and in all three cases the garages were placed underground with gates and driveways on the plot line.

In the case of the Metrodom River, we set out to create the design for the same purpose, but the 30,000 square meter site, the distance between the buildings 40-50 meters apart posed challenges. On such a scale, at first it seemed impossible to completely displace car traffic, it was not tried in residential parks in the area or farther away, more traditional roads were built instead everywhere. But we couldn’t let go of the first idea, the possibility of a full-coverage park, and in the end, we decided that the entire road network, that everyone else would have drawn on the surface, should go underground. Thus, in Metrodom River, at Budafoki út, we are building a 2 + 1 lane junction handling two-way traffic, which is immediately directed underground via a ramp. Here, traffic will run on a 250-meter-long, 2x1-lane road, where residents can access the garages under the buildings at two intersections and on the roads connected to it. This will make driving as comfortable as in any new-build house in that residents can park in the garage under the building near their home, just nothing will be visible on the surface. In the park, which is surrounded by a fence, you can walk, ride a bike, rollerblade, push a stroller, and small children should not be afraid of car drivers or motorcyclists either. There will be no cars parked next to the buildings, no obstacles to pedestrians, no roaring engines, poorly set alarms to disturb residents.

Another advantage of this solution is that not only cars and motorcycles will be absent, but garbage trucks and bins too, they will not be seen between the buildings in the garden either. In Metrodom River, the ventilated garbage bin storage rooms are not on the ground floor, but on the basement level, and the containers will also roll underground to Budafoki út, where garbage trucks will be waiting in a separate, dedicated place.

For visitors and couriers arriving at the residential park, we will set up a small guest car park on the surface near the entrance, where they can park for a strictly limited period of time (this will be checked by the security guard of the residential park), and access the buildings by walking on the surface.