Vilmos Apor Catholic College, Pesterzsébet

Architects: Róbert Jahoda, Zoltán Páricsy
Text: Vilmos Katona
Photos: Balázs Danyi

Based in Vác, Vilmos Apor Catholic College has a campus in the capital which has been standing unused since the summer of 1993. In 2014 it has been taken over by a new owner who had generous ideas starting from afar and landing right here. The institution was extended with an accommodation for professors and a boarding school, besides the auditoriums there are now also office rooms, diners, as well as a chapel. All this is integrated into a unity in the spectacular foyer on the ground floor which has evolved into the most important communal space of the building besides its communication and linking functions. When meeting all the needs on the list that the designers had to rephrase the operations functions principles of the existing building. It turned out that the campus would be of a different scale and rank than its precedent, and a proportionate architectural solution for it had to be found. The projected college was to integrate the past and the present simultaneously, partly via the inherited building block, partly via the reinterpretation of the objects found on the site. Despite the numerous functions required, this heterogenous structure has remained a healthily simple and meaningful one.

General design: Jahoda és Páricsy Építésziroda Kft.
Leading architects: Róbert Jahoda, Zoltán Páricsy
Fellow designers: Győző Wittinger, Teréz Zwickl
Fellow architects: Eszter Rédey, Zsuzsanna Fái, Zoltán Csibi
Interiors: Márton Jahoda – Jaad Kft
Chapel interior: Róbert Jahoda, Zoltán Páricsy, Márton Jahoda
Artworks in the chapel: Zoltán Tölg-Molnár DLA
Framework: Katalin Zoltán, Zsolt Petrilla – S&Z Építő Bt., Artpenna Stúdió Kft.
HVAC: Csaba Hucker – HÉT Tervezőiroda Kft.
Electrical engineering: Zsolt Beharka, Péter Hegedűs – EBC Műszaki Szolgáltató Kft.
Structure: Richárd Reisch, Ágnes Sáró – Frt Raszter Kft.
Public utilities: Edina Völgyi, István Sulyok – Kristály Kft.
Acoustics: Beáta Mesterházy – Toma Mérnöki és Szolgáltató Bt.
Fire protection: Dr. Lajos Takács, Katalin Kovács – TAKÁCS-Tetra Kft.
Landscape: Gábor Szűcs, Zsófia Csonka – Szilszakáll Kft.
Traffic: Péter Becsák – Terraquia Kft.
Accessibility: András Pandula – Épített Környezetért Alapítvány
Elevator: Tamás Pölöskei – Makrolian Kft.
Environment: Gábor Bérczi – Novum Kkt.
Kitchen technology: Béla Fraknói
Safety, health: András Kecsmarik – Futamidő 96 Bt.
Pre-fabricated concrete: Gábor Kovács – Concrete by Giacotti
Client: Apor Vilmos Katolikus Főiskola, Józsefné Libor Dr.PhD, Imre Kucsera, Tamás Bacsa
Project management: Értékpedagógia Kft., Kamocsa Gábor
Main contracor: FERROÉP ZRt.-ÁHÁZ Kft. Konzorcium, Pál Nemesi, Imre Ágostházy