New Exhibition Building in Debrecen of the Hungarian Natural Sciences Museum

In a prestige row of participants our practice won a purchase prize in the architectural competition for New Exhibition Building in Debrecen of the Hungarian Natural Sciences Museum.

https://mtm.debrecen.hu/en/winners

ENTRY 11

The design is inspired by the organic-crystalline structure of the mineral rhodocrosite, which intends to blur

the boundaries between the natural landscape and the built environment through its structural mapping.

The organic connections in the mineral’s cross-section are reflected in the building’s layout and spatial

organisation. The spatial units thus created provide an excellent way of grouping the building’s individual

functions into separate, occasionally confusing, yet organically interwoven blocks. The garden connec-

tions and the sporadic presence of internal gardens suggest the function of the building, but overall the

entry does not sufficiently communicate the institution’s identity. The design is a detailed vision with many

creative ideas, but the creative energy invested is devalued by the somewhat cluttered and over-used

spatial connections. Alongside the kinetic spatial organisation, the entry pays close attention to functional

usability, the management and the transport routes of artefacts. The logistics of the exhibition spaces are

well managed, but the amorphous geometry of the spaces is sometimes not advantageous. The sliding

mobile wall solution for the external boundary walls of temporary exhibition spaces results in inadequate

exhibition space. The proposals for the design of the workrooms are outstanding, but the opening of the

immersive space, the conference area and the permanent exhibition into a narrow common anteroom

makes them difficult to use.

The internal green bays also enhance the visitor’s sense of comfort in the spaces within the building, and

the exciting internal and external connections are reinforced by the organic massing. The longitudinal

mass of the building, oriented north-south, is horizontally expansive, but also has the value of creating

a new urban space with a water feature and inviting visitors to visit through a new community function.