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The University of Debrecen announced an architectural design competition for the construction of the UniGreen Hotel, an innovative educational hotel, canteen, and dining hall. The plan for the circular building, designed by TSPC and Firka Architect Studio, under the leadership of TSPC, was awarded.

The UniGreen Hotel is planned to be built near the University of Debrecen. The special location of the building makes it unique: a 200 m long access road surrounded by the forest leads to the building. The site, thanks to its characteristics, provides an excellent environment for the implementation of the project.

There can be no doubt that in Debrecen, in addition to the current hotel developments, there is a need to build new facilities, and that the already successful training hotel as an institution and building type, helps professionals in their practical training. However, the location of the UniGreen Hotel raises serious questions. The high-quality hotel with a minimum of 50 rooms, a spa, conference facilities, a restaurant, and a spacious car park, almost 6,000 m2 would be located on a large plot, surrounded by a multi-level, multi-protected forest, where the development potential is severely limited.

The large-scale functional system was intended to create a building mass and functional structure that was as compact as possible within the given constraints. The design also aimed to ensure that the canopy and root systems of trees, some of which are individually protected, would be damaged as little as possible during the construction and operation of the hotel.

The building proposal, designed by TSPC and Firka Architects Studio, implements the shape in a compact, circular plan, also known as a basic hotel building type.

The building, surrounded by woods is an artificial monolith: it has no definite edges, and the massing and the façade design take on the appearance of the smallest possible building block with gradual transitions and blurred boundaries.

The UniGreen Hotel, designed by TSPC and Firka Architects Studio, has the advantage of larger than expected room sizes, providing even more space for its residents. The rooms have a 360˚ panorama view, resulting in minimal built-in and maximum use of floor space. The 19 rooms, arranged on a circular ring, are connected by a side corridor opened to an internal atrium with elevators and stairs. Panoramic elevators for transport between levels further enhance the openness and sense of space. The staircase in the atrium, which also provides an escape route, has been uniquely shaped by the designers.

In addition to the main units on the ground floor, the building also houses the restaurant, the kitchen, and three conference rooms with a bathroom. On floors 1-2-3, standard and superior rooms are located above each other. On the 3rd floor, the pool and its mechanical area are wedged in between. On the 4th floor, the suites and the wellness area share a panoramic view of the forest.

There is no clear outer shell, nor transparent or reflective glass surfaces on the upper floors. For walkers in the park, depending on the viewing position, the edge of the cylinder is always in a concealed position, while the transparency of the lamellas gives a blurring of the building contours. Visually and in use, the balconies form a transitional space between the forest and the hotel, the exterior, and the interior, providing a unique experience of being close to nature. At the same time, the interior opened to nature, and the fully glazed façade, opened to the outside, becomes “visible” thanks to the transparency of the lamellas.

In Debrecen, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of people with higher education in tourism and hospitality. Thanks to UniGreen Hotel, those with higher education can gain relevant practical experience alongside their theoretical knowledge.

Relating to Debrecen, TSPC has recently shared its feasibility studies for the New Clinical Block of the University of Debrecen Clinical Centre. The studies are used for further planning of the implementation process.

TSPC’S latest hotel development, Hotel Dorothea is underway and the company’s design for Aranybika Hotel received a priority purchase award.

Staff list

General Design: TSPC Kft., Mihály Kádár

Project Manager: TSPC Kft., Gábor Lacházi

Architectural design: Firka Építész Stúdió Kft., István Bikki

Lead Architect: Zoltán Bun PhD

Architectural designers: Zsolt Dobos, Balázs Hegedűs DLA, Veronika Kovács, Klára Zsufa, Balázs Weiser

Visualization: János Sümegi

Energy design: PPR Plan Kft., Károly Pavlics

Kitchen and hotel technology: Design Studio Kft., Alexandra Rétfalvi-Kurucz

Water engineering: Hydrochem Ltd., Sándor Hajdú