Semmelweis University's internationally renowned institution to be renovated

Böjtös-Bau Kft. may carry out the development of the Semmelweis University building on Villányi út, according to the notice published on TED. According to the bid value, the energy efficiency improvement of the university's building at 67 Villányi út will be realised in a net investment of HUF 1.221 billion. The stated goal of the development of the building, which houses the internationally renowned Pető Institute, is energy savings and safe operation.

New staircase for the building

The building, which has a useful floor area of more than 5,000 square metres, will not only undergo energy improvements, as the public procurement shows. Among other things, the "bridge of sighs" on the first floor and the attic level and the connecting corridor on the basement level below will be demolished. These will be replaced by a new multi-span staircase, which will be able to connect flush with all the floor levels of the building. The 20 cm thick walls of the new reinforced concrete staircase will be insulated with 16 cm of insulation.

The steel and timber roof structure of the attic level will also be demolished to create a full-height slab-on-grade level, which will allow the installation of vertical-plane windows.

Rock wool will be the solution for walls and facades

The project will also have a major impact on the facades of the building, which will be retrofitted with rock wool insulation and fibre cement cladding with ventilated air gaps. Aged and worn-out façade windows will be replaced by new aluminium structures with adequate thermal insulation. The windows will be shaded and darkened by manually operated external aluminium shutters.

The exterior brick walls of the existing building will also be insulated: the reinforced concrete walls will be insulated with 16 cm thick mineral wool insulation with a single-sided glass-foil cladding.

How the Pető method became world famous

The International Pető Institute, named after András Pető (1893-1967), is world-famous for the therapeutic pedagogical method it uses. The eponymous doctor and pedagogue developed a unique treatment for the disabled: the so-called conductive education method has enabled thousands of children to go to school and lead active adult lives. The basic idea behind this method is that our nervous system, despite damage, has reserves, the possibility of building new connections, and that these can be mobilised by properly guiding the learning-teaching process. The method has influenced the whole of Hungarian therapeutic pedagogy and has brought about significant changes in this field throughout the world.

The Pető Method and the institution received the State Award for the training of conductors using the conductive method in 1983, the first Intellectual Hungaricum Award in the Hungaricum Club in 2006, the Hungarian Heritage Award in 2013 for its originality and uniqueness, and the Prima Award at the Prima Primissima Gala.