Nordic Light Office Block, Budapest

Architects: Gergely Paulinyi, András Reith 
Text: Anett Mizsei 
Photos: Tamás Bujnovszky 

The concept of Nordic Light office block is based on motion and live experience, as a deliberate choice made by designers. Architects from Mérték Stúdió made use of parametric design methods to create the gentle irregular arches of the delicately cut glass plates in the rows of glass lamellas on the main facade. The system of lamellas placed in front of the glass front overlap from the non-transparent to the transparent to solve the sharp contours of the building which also makes the observer of the building uncertain about unambiguously perceiving the borders between the building and the horizons of the sky. Designers took several steps to create the winding mass forms starting from the block and its wider context. By retracting the top level and carving off from the mass at certain points they actually tuned the building in to harmonize with the fabric of the city: the exterior surfaces adjust to the rhythm of the existing rows of houses in the street. Answers to the expectations of work-place welfare and well-being as the objectives of the investor involve the immediate urban context of the project, as human beings’ niches and man-made environments. Besides the inner garden, the upper levels also possess green roofs from where there are views of yet another layer of this urban context: the block offers a panoramic view of the adjoining highrise with tall roofs with alternating planes with a unique rhythm. The roof expanse was designed to invite as much greenery as possible by making use of all the positive effects it offers, including its impact on the inner and outer microclimate of the building.

• General design: Mérték Építészeti Stúdió Kft.
• Leading architects: Dr. Gergely Paulinyi DLA, Dr. András Reith  PhD
• Project architect: István Vámossy 
• Co-architects: Gergő Burián, Orsolya Fülöp
• Fellow architects: Péter Debreczeni, Gabriella Gáspár, Róbert Gulyás, Zsombor Lukács, Zalán Reviczky, Júlia Somodi-Ridzi, Margó Szécsi, Lóránt Vida 
• Parametric design of glass facade: Bálint Botzheim, Zsolt Nyírő 
• Structure: Róbert Gecsényi, Gellért Lakos 
• HVAC: László Kolarovszky 
• Building automation: Mihály Labádi 
• Electrical engineering: Zoltán Üveges 
• Garden design: Csenge Csontos†, Borbála Gyüre 
• Client: Skanska
• Main contractor: Skanska