Considered one of Hungary’s most prominent institutions for higher education, the Corvinus University of Budapest is popular with local and international students for their diverse faculties and acclaimed academics. Housed in a historic building along Pest’s Danube promenade, the school will be complete with a contemporary sports center, to be built just a short walk from the main campus. This fresh addition to the academy will include a swimming pool, squash courts, several gymnasiums and a café. The winning tender for the project has come from Hungarian company ZSK Architects.
In August, Corvinus University of Budapest put out a tender for the construction of a new sports center near the main campus on Fővám tér in Pest. When the winning concept was unveiled in early October, new details emerged of this future construction to go ahead at a currently vacant lot in District IX’s Lónyay Street. Applications for the tender were required to include sufficient space for a handball court with seating for 200 people. In addition, the new sports complex should feature a swimming pool, three or four competition-level squash courts, alongside gymnasiums, changing rooms and shower facilities.
Established within historic downtown, the architecture of the edifice needs to correspond with the surrounding buildings and fit into the landscape, besides boasting eco-friendly amenities. Plans submitted by the Hungarian ZSK Architects studio came first in the contest, and their design adapted well to central Budapest’s eclectic cityscape, local website Építészfórum (Architect Forum) website announced. According to the concept, the building’s ground level will house the swimming pool, an auditorium and even a café, while the upper level of the athletics center will feature the rest of the sports facilities.
The plans also include alternatives for using the abandoned Lónyay Street plot as a temporary fitness facility before construction starts, highlighting how the city’s unexploited spaces can be better utilized.
