Is Sárospatak choosing the past or the future? - plans for the new campus presented at a public information session

The University of Tokaj-Hegyalja in Sárospatak is expanding with a new dormitory building. Together with the new dormitory and teaching block, the institution will be able to accommodate a total of 2000 students. The concept, which also includes the regeneration of the historic town, was presented by the designer BuildEXT Kft. at a development briefing in Sárospatak.

The site of a building that burnt down 20 years ago is being used

As a forerunner of the project, the Tokaj-Hegyalja University, established in 2021, started its operations in the iconic building of the long-standing Sárospatak Teachers' College. The renovation of the 112-year-old monument, designed by Jenő Kismarty-Lechner and László Warga, was recently completed by KE-VÍZ 21 Zrt., whose inauguration was reported in September. However, the old building is no longer able to meet the capacity needs of the continuously expanding institution, which is expected to accommodate 2,000 students in the future.

The project in question is on land adjacent to the main building:

The University of Tokaj-Hegyalja is planning to build a 14,000-square-metre building on the site of a mill that burned down 20 years ago. In addition to dormitory rooms, the new campus will also include a 150-seat lecture hall and other teaching facilities - laboratories and seminar rooms.

With the increased number of people, parking capacity will also need to be increased - just think of the opening of the school year or graduation ceremonies - so there will be a 140-space underground car park under the new block. In addition, a number of community spaces will be created, including a restaurant, a fitness area and a library.

Even at current staffing levels, capacity is already tight

At the opening of the development briefing on Thursday, Dr. Szabolcs Farkas, Mayor of Sárospatak, called the investment a groundbreaking one, which will benefit not only the students but also the university and the city. Referring to the modern architectural concept that is the subject of the event, he said that there were architectural styles in the history of the municipality that were looked upon with surprise at the time, but today they are here and everyone is proud of them.

Csaba Vincze, Chancellor of the University of Tokaj-Hegyalja, indicated in his welcoming speech that after its establishment, the legal predecessor Sárospatak University had been a pioneer in the field of legal education in Hungary. target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tokaj-Hegyalja University, pointed out in his welcoming speech that since its establishment, the former college in Sárospatak, which had 300 students, now has around 1,100, and future plans also point to dynamic growth. "We have already taken significant steps in this direction with the renovation of the main building and the ongoing development of the gymnasium and library," he pointed out. „At the same time, even with the current number of students, the building is already too small: with the new block, we want to increase the number of dormitory places by a further 280, and we are also building new teaching spaces for the university and community facilities for the town.”

Could define the city for decades

Csaba Livják, Managing Director of BuildEXT Kft., the architectural firm that designed the new campus, went on to present the concepts of the project in detail. It was clear from his first words that he was deeply involved in the outcome of the project, as a native of Sárospatak, he spent his childhood a few hundred metres from the site of the presentation and finished secondary school in the town's high school, which boasts a history of almost 500 years.

"It feels good to be able to give something back to my parents that will define their operation for decades to come"

- he said.

According to the head of the design company, the design of the project was started by another firm whose earlier design was not accepted by the National Architectural Design Council. So a new tender was launched, which was won by BuildEXT. The university and the city clearly wanted a modern, contemporary building.

An integral part of the past, but a future-oriented concept supported by the university

Under pressure from previous Planning Council opinions, a more traditional building, more in keeping with the context of the historic buildings - reminiscent of neo-Renaissance castles - was designed to fit into the small town fabric, without competing with the town's distinctive historic buildings.

However, the leadership of the University of Tokaj-Hegyalja, including the chairman of the university's board of trustees, György Wáberer, was unanimous in favour of a modern version that would express the renewal of the university, and a new plan was developed to meet both needs, yet still be bold enough to meet them.

"We pay homage to the past and finish what our predecessors could not do on the site of the flamboyant dormitory, then draw a sharp line and create a conscious contrast with a forward-looking architectural appearance that, instead of copying, counterpoints the building of the community centre and, with its colour and minimalism, highlights the richness of detail and beauty of the historic buildings." - said Csaba Livják.

"The investment will radically transform the university and the municipality, making it a university town with a capital letter. As part of the concept, new functions will be brought to life in the town square, creating University Square, which will provide an opportunity for the interweaving of the cultural synergy of the town, tourism and the university."

"Should we dare to be brave or stick to tradition?"

Csaba Livják also revealed that just before the 18 September event, he received an opinion on the latest plan from the Planning Council, which essentially rejected the concept of a modern building. "This diverted the meeting from its original purpose. Therefore, at today's development briefing, we are presenting not one version, but two, and asking the residents of the city to express their intentions in a vote on which way they would choose. Should we dare to be bold and choose a forward-looking concept or stick to tradition?" - he asked.

In his presentation, the CEO of BuildEXT pointed out that the University of Sárospatak is growing almost ten times compared to the former college.

"The project will transform the town into a university town, and to achieve this change, the architectural language must respond with a form that expresses the extent of this change"

- he said.

It is said that a traditionalist wing will be built symmetrically on top of the current historic building, reflecting it, in a modern version but respecting tradition. "Beyond that, we have drawn a sharp line, and in continuation we have designed a contemporary, contrasting but glittering building as a conscious contrast.

It is a minimalist building, expressing that the new age does not compete with the old buildings, but highlights their beauty and value through the contrast of darker shades of colour."

The building will immediately send a message to people arriving in the city

Csaba Livják said that from an architectural point of view, the question is what a university building looks like today. "The building of the historic concept could easily look like a castle pension. At the same time, AI is transforming education right now, so the question is: should we build a historic university in the 21st century?"

A related aspect is that the location of the extension means that the first thing people arriving in the city will see is the new college block. "An important question is what message do we want to send to people coming to the city: is this an international university or a reinterpreted historic building?"

Every milestone in the city's history has been marked by a new architectural style

An exciting part of the presentation was the presentation of the architectural DNA of Sárospatak, which boasts 800 years of history. It revealed,

that for each reform or milestone in the city's history, a new architectural style emerged, which over the decades was incorporated into the fabric of the city, enriching it.

Csaba Livják first mentioned as an example the Red Tower built by the Perényi, and then the era of educational reform. "The latter brought classicism, under the influence of which the college and the entire main street were built - but at that time this was not entirely clear and universally supported," he pointed out. "Then, at the beginning of the 20th century, Art Nouveau influenced the construction of the Lechner building in a completely alien formal language, with a building that was considered extremely modern at the time. Later came the milestone of urbanisation, with the almost space-like, organic buildings by Imre Makovecz, which put Sárospatak's architecture at the forefront of world architecture. None of these buildings fitted in, yet they are now the architectural treasures of Sárospatak."

The next milestone is, in his words, becoming a university city: "In my view, this too must be expressed in a completely new architectural language, in keeping with the city's historical traditions. To do this, it is worth looking at what a university city looks like." He added that they had also looked at several examples of university towns of similar size in Hungary, and had drawn inspiration from them.

A historic opportunity for the municipality

An important part of the concept is that the planners, in cooperation with the Planning Council, have also examined the impact of the project on the city, involving the city administration in the discussions.

"Accordingly, we have designed the University Square in the city with, among other things, a light painting, a fountain and information point and a gastropub powered by thermal water."

Csaba Livják pointed out that the full development of the University City, including the construction of the downtown University Square, is estimated to increase the city's annual revenue by HUF 1.5-2 billion by generating tourism, among other things. The architect, who was born in Sárospatak, saw this as a historic opportunity.

He stressed that the city must start preparing for demographic changes, as a settlement of 10,000 will see the arrival of around 2,000 young people in a few years, for whom transport, sports and leisure facilities, among other things, must be developed.

Future-oriented projects are not alien to the region

He also referred to the World Heritage status of the region, which in his experience has led to the failure of many local architectural concepts, and only those that have the basic features of the landscape - red tiled roofs, whitewashed walls and stone framed buildings made of Madi limestone - are given the green light.

However, he explained that World Heritage protection does not impose such strict restrictions in other countries, for example in the Loire Valley in France and in the windmills of the Netherlands, and gave examples from Europe.

We would like to add that the Zemplén region is no stranger to modern projects. We recently reported on the groundbreaking ceremony for the sárospatak swimming pool, also designed by BuildEXT, but the new office building Weinberg Kft., also designed by the Hungarian firm, and built with world-class digital technology, is just as forward-looking. Another example of a particularly extreme category is the more than 700-metre-long suspension bridge with a glass floor spanning 80 metres between Tábor Hill and Sátor Hill in Sátoraljaújhely, a tourist attraction the likes of which are rare in many places around the world.

Both the Forum and project participants vote for the modernist version

After the presentation by Csaba Livják, the forum continued with a round table discussion of the project stakeholders and contributions from the public.

The results showed unanimously that there is strong support for a concept based on a contemporary building, from the investor, the city administration, the university administration, the city architect and the public. The latter was also indicated by the fact that 96% of the 80-100 people present at the forum voted in favour of the modern architectural design in a QR code ballot.

The closing session showed that the concept that prevails is not the only one that will have an impact on the project's duration. If the minimalist concept preferred by the university wins, the new block could be completed in 1-1.5 years. However, if no compromise is reached, the project could drag on for years, jeopardising the functioning of the institution, compromising the quality of life of the students and their access to increased teaching and dormitory capacity.