The Own Office of the TIBA Architects Studio

TIBA Studio has undergone significant changes in recent years. This, of course, also meant articulating the need for a new office. We needed a space that supports our own rethought, more efficient operation, and represents the values and quality that are also important in our design work. This is now embodied in our new home at the foot of Gellért Hill. Our own office project is an integrated tender where the customer, the designer, and the construction management team were the same: ourselves. By leveraging the synergies from the different strengths of our employees, space has been created to which our personal attachment is extremely strong and supports our expanded, changed, and improved operations.

The selection of the site and the building, every detail of the design and construction is due to the precise definition of our own values and needs. The main points were the location, the office and the people working in the office, and responsible operation. An office environment has been created that can adapt flexibly to the conditions of our most efficient daily operation, creative thinking, as well as in-depth and precise engineering work. In addition, during the planning process, we also highlighted an aspect whose future significance we could not even foresee. We knew we wanted to support the flexible, even remote, safe work of our colleagues. This required a significantly higher capacity IT infrastructure than before. It is also due to this that we operated without interruption even in the epidemic situation.

In our new office, the built-in imprints of the previous design works of the Studio are marked by professional corner points, provide inspiration and preserve good memories. These include the KAZA-TIBA collections' self-designed concrete cladding, the graphics of glass sliding doors and glass walls designed for the Telekom headquarters, the prototype ceiling for the Váci Greens outdoor arcade, and the metal wall cladding of the Fashion Hall and the Telekom headquarters. Using several pieces of furniture in the previous office of the Studio, we managed to save a period of our own story.

The complex of buildings on the corner plot bordered by Ménesi út - Bartoniek stairs was originally owned by the Lazarist holy orders, on the plot, there was a chapel, a convent, and a boys' college. A residence and a library are still maintained here by the order of monks, but the 2 levels of the former boys ’college have stood ruined for decades. With the relocation of the Studio, the lower levels have been recycled and possibly even protected from total destruction. We also arranged the street front, supplemented the public lighting; making the Bartoniek stairs a popular route. In addition to preserving the value of the built environment, we also considered it important to support contemporary fine and applied artists by displaying their works in our spaces.

Taking care of biodiversity, we planted our own garden with landscaped plants that like the Mediterranean microclimate of the southern slope of Gellért Hill.

Environmental aspects of sustainability were at least as important in design and construction. We utilized an existing building, so we did not increase our carbon footprint with new construction. We controlled the amount of built-in cladding, we tried to save as much of the original materials and structures as possible: we renovated the powder glass vault, the brick walls, the artificial stone staircase with the wrought-iron railing and wooden handrails. The newly installed coverings are partly made of recycled materials or have recycled content. Our energy-saving LED lights can be set per workstation group, even from a mobile phone application. Sanitary ware is water-saving, our programmable cooling-heating system operates with a renewable energy source (VRF / VRF air coolant system).

The true measure of the value of a building is to make users feel at home - we do feel very well!

Location:: Budapest, XI. district
Function: office
Phase: built
Architecture: TIBA Architects Studio 
Lead Architects: Viktória Honti, Zoltán Király 
Project Manager: Eszter Schmolczer
Architect Designers: Diána Csépányi, Dávid Szmetana, Zoltán Virágh
Design: 2018-19
Construction: 2019
Gross floor area: 300 m2
Awards: Office of the Year Design Award 2020