Foster + Partners have revealed designs for the sustainability-minded new headquarters of Hungarian oil and gas company MOL Group in southern Budapest. Known as MOL Campus, the plan will center on an environmentally-progressive structure located within in a park-like setting. When completed, it will become this city’s tallest building.
“This is a landmark project for several reasons, not only for MOL but also for Budapest,” said Nigel Dancey, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners. “It presents a unique challenge – to ensure that the building meets the functional needs of the organisation, follows the highest standards of sustainability, and is respectful of its historic surroundings.”
The building form is a natural evolution of the traditional podium-and-tower typology. A glassy podium sweeps along a series of outdoor spaces and walkways, smoothly turning upward at one end into a 28-story tower. To encourage relaxation and collaboration, vegetation and natural light feature throughout the building from the central atrium to sky gardens located along the building facade. A publicly-accessible roof garden will cap the tower.
“As we see the nature of the workplace changing to a more collaborative vision, we have combined two buildings – a tower and a podium – into a singular form, bound by nature,” Dancey continues. “As the tower and the podium start to become one element, there is a sense of connectivity throughout the office spaces, with garden spaces linking each of the floors together.”
Office spaces are laid out in flexible arrangements between offset service cores, further reinforcing the importance of collaboration and comfortability. High-tech climate and light control systems will help to create the optimal workspace while maintaining energy efficiency and sustainability, one of the project’s core concepts.
“The MOL Campus seeks to preserve live-work relationships as part of the urban experience, where people are able to walk or cycle to work,” explain the architects. “All occupants have a direct connection to the external environment providing fresh air, daylight and views, and the building utilises low and zero carbon energy sources, such as photovoltaics, also featuring rainwater harvesting and storage facilities.”
News via Foster + Partners.
