On Tuesday morning, the Ludovika Wing Building, reconstructed by ZÁÉV Építőipari Zrt., was officially handed over at the University of Public Service (NKE) in Budapest. The heritage-protected building, located next to the main building, will serve educational, training and other functions required by students.
Click to open the gallery – Photos: Tamás Dernovics / magyarepitok.hu
The transformation of the four-storey building did not involve any structural construction work; however, the layout and function of the rooms were completely redesigned, and the gas heating system was replaced with district heating.
The reconstruction of the wing building, originally completed in 1886 based on the designs of József Kauser, took approximately one and a half years. During the renovation, an important consideration was to preserve the building’s original values as faithfully as possible, while ensuring that the added elements did not alter the appearance or atmosphere of either the building or the streetscape. For this reason, only interior alterations were carried out.
The building, with a usable floor area of approximately 9,000 square metres, includes:
- 92 offices,
- 8 seminar rooms accommodating 40–50 people each,
- 3 language laboratories,
- one computer room for 20–25 people,
- and, in keeping with Ludovika traditions, 2 fencing halls.
Students will also be able to use community spaces and meeting rooms.
NKE Leaves Behind Its Home of Four Decades
According to the information sheet distributed on site, the handover of the development is significant for NKE because, after a long period of time, the wing building — once part of the Ludovika Academy — will once again serve a university function.
This brings the institution closer to the government objective set out in 2012, according to which NKE is to be housed in a unified location on the Ludovika Campus. In parallel with the handover of the wing building, NKE will leave its iconic Ménesi Road campus during the summer, which had served as the home of public administration officer training for more than 40 years.
The University Has Benefited from Numerous Developments in Recent Years
The University of Public Service has undergone continuous development in recent years. As we previously reported, the Faculty of Law Enforcement received a special educational building and dormitory. The facility was completed by Magyar Építő Zrt. in 2017.
The company recognised the outstanding work of the colleagues involved in the project with a commemorative plaque.
As part of the campus development, two further major elements of the complex — the riding hall and the sports centre — were delivered by ZÁÉV Építőipari Zrt. and Market Építő Zrt. In addition, a 600-bed dormitory for the university’s civilian students was also built near Nagyvárad tér, on the corner of Orczy Road and Üllői Road. The building received a Construction Industry Award of Excellence in 2018. The 13,000-square-metre facility was constructed by a consortium comprising West Hungária Bau Kft., Épkar Zrt. and PBE Építő Kft., based on the designs of Finta and Partners Architects Studio Kft.
Also improving the institution’s conditions, the complete renovation of Orczy Park — one of Budapest’s largest green areas — was completed in spring 2020.
Almost 70,000 Square Metres of New Buildings Created
At Tuesday’s handover ceremony, Balázs Fürjes, State Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office responsible for the development of Budapest and the metropolitan agglomeration, also referred to the work already completed. He recalled that the reconstruction had begun seven years earlier. Thanks to careful planning and construction work, Ludovika Campus has become more than a university: an entire urban district has been reborn.
In his speech, the State Secretary also recalled the story of his father, Lieutenant Sándor Fürjes, posthumously promoted to Brigadier General, who graduated from Ludovika in 1944 as part of the final class, and who was arrested by the Arrow Cross in the Ludovika building on 14 November 1944.
Gergely Gulyás, Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office, also attended the event. He said that Ludovika Campus is growing step by step, building by building.
“During the first five years of the investment, the project provided work for a total of 10,000 people and resulted in the creation of almost 70,000 square metres of new buildings.
A net HUF 34 billion was allocated to the first phase of the urban development launched in connection with Ludovika,”
the Minister stated, adding that Orczy Park, which is open to everyone, had been expanded by 100,000 square metres.
