MOME Campus

The new campus of the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) is one of Budapest’s most distinctive higher-education developments. Located in Zugliget, in the 12th district, the three-phase development yielded an entirely new architectural ensemble while revitalising earlier components of the institution. The buildings were constructed by Market Építő Zrt. based on the plans of 3H Építésziroda in all three phases of development. The completed complex represents a harmonious unity of contemporary architecture, functionality and sustainability.

MOME One

The first phase, completed in spring 2016, saw the construction of MOME One, the centre for the practical training programmes of the campus. With a floor area of 2,400 square metres, the Workshop House comprises 49 different workshop rooms, including woodworking, design, coppersmith, leather and textile workshops, as well as a car lab. The architectural concept of the building is based on functionality and material purity: the clean, industrial-style interiors are connected by exposed concrete surfaces and a dark grey brick façade, evoking both the atmosphere of workshop work and the modern image of MOME. MOME One is located in the southern part of the campus, in the immediate vicinity of MOME Two, with the two buildings connected by a grey concrete bridge, which creates not only a physical but also a functional link between them.

MOME Two

In the second phase, completed in 2018, MOME Two was inaugurated – an extensive, five-storey, more than 4,000-square-metre Media and Studio Building. This complex forms the heart of the campus’s creative and technological spaces, accommodating textile, screen-printing, glass and ceramics workshops; graphic studios; a concrete laboratory; spatial-experiment studios; as well as photography and digital-object laboratories. Film and sound studios, editing suites and screening rooms further enrich the building, allowing up to two hundred students to work simultaneously. MOME Two’s monolithic reinforced-concrete frame – with its long-span floor slabs – ensures flexible spatial configuration, while specialised acoustic claddings in the sound and film studios guarantee exceptional audio quality. With its completion, the number of educational venues doubled, the workshop areas tripled, communal spaces expanded fivefold, and research-appropriate areas grew to ten times their previous size.

MOME Base, MOME Up, MOME Ground

The third phase, completed in 2019, encompassed the campus’s most intricate and architecturally striking structures. This involved the realisation of the MOME Base, MOME Up and MOME Ground buildings, as well as the full reconstruction of the campus park. MOME Base now serves as the centre of undergraduate education. Erected on the site of the former “B” building, which was demolished, the new structure is unique in Hungary for its structural design. The atrium’s floating effect is achieved through a special post-tensioned reinforced-concrete system: the lower floor slabs are suspended from the top slab, eliminating the need for internal columns or pillars and allowing a seamless, uninterrupted interior space. Natural light abundantly pours in through the asymmetric atrium, while educational and communal areas maintain a strong visual interconnectedness.

Approaching from Zugligeti Road, the MOME Up – also known as the Knowledge Centre – defines the renewed face of the campus. This building houses the university library, the doctoral school, and the innovation and research units. Within its 6,000-square-metre floor area, a 650-square-metre library, 35 offices and 3 meeting rooms are accommodated. The façade is clad with a double-skin layer of channel glass, which regulates daylight and supports natural ventilation. Photovoltaic panels installed on the roof ensure the use of renewable energy, contributing to the building’s energy efficiency and sustainability.

The new main entrance, MOME Ground has become a vibrant core of the university’s social life. A distribution and gathering space capable of accommodating 1,500 people links the university’s buildings, incorporating communal and dining functions. Its expanding, organic entrance form symbolically expresses the spirit of openness and inclusivity that defines the institution.