We are moving forward like a football team - interview with a key member of the Dunakeszi Student Quarter project

Tibor Gábor Tóth, project director of WEST HUNGÁRIA BAU Kft., played a leading role in the largest investment in education in recent years; we spoke to him as our "Engineer of the Month" in September. Built as part of the WHB and LATEREX Építő Zrt. projects, As a prelude to the development of the Dunakeszi Student Quarter, which was handed over on 1 September, we naturally also looked back at the milestones in the expert’s career.

The atmosphere of old buildings has drawn him into the sector

"My mother worked as a restorer, so my childhood experiences were formative, and even then I was very attracted to the historic environment," the engineer recalls. "As a high school student, I loved drawing so much that I did a course in it while attending the Schulek Frigyes Building Technology College."

He received his higher education at the Ybl Miklós College, which he later completed with a degree in architecture at the University of Pécs. Another significant experience for him as an undergraduate was the programme to survey chapels. "The atmosphere of these buildings was quite captivating, and I became even more attached to the building industry."

As a young engineer, he played a leading role in an award-winning project

He started his career in the building construction sector as a jobsite engineer for small companies, before moving to Arcadom Zrt., where he was involved in increasingly large projects, mainly residential. "Examples include the Dunapest Residence residential complex on the banks of the Danube, next to the National Theatre, or the multifunctional Castrum House, where we also built offices and a sports centre."

A major milestone for him was that from 2006 he was the technical manager in charge of the construction of the headquarters of Pannon GSM (now Telenor - editor) in Turku, which later won a Construction Excellence Award. "The centre, which was built on 10 hectares of land and was worth HUF 15 billion at the time, was also outstanding because we used a number of technologies that were new at the time, including geothermal heat pumps and ceiling heating."

The latter work was also carried out in a consortium, which provided important additional experience. "I tried to organise the project on the basis of a well thought-out organigram, taking into account the skills and work capacity of our experts, and overall we managed to produce a quality job."

Even in the forced circumstances of the recession

The next step was the complete interior design architecture of the Allee Shopping Centre, which opened in 2009: "We designed the glass cladding for the retail spaces, the cinema and the public areas, among others."

During the construction recession that started at the time, he was already working at Triganit Zrt., after a transfer within the group. "Here I was also working as a technical manager in charge of a major project for K & H Bank. The biggest challenge in this development was the fluctuations in material prices due to the crisis and the very strong need for cost efficiency. It can be said that we worked with a relatively small team, but very efficiently, including the successful construction of the iron structure of the 55,000 m2 building. In the end, we were able to achieve the client's complete satisfaction in a project that was planned to the last detail."

The Ozorai castle with its memorable project arrived at WHB

In the following years, he worked again for smaller companies, mainly in the field of renovation of monuments and insulation of prefabricated houses, and in 2015 he joined WEST HUNGÁRIA BAU Kft., where he immediately proved himself in his favourite field of monument development. "My first job there was the renovation of the Osorai Castle."

Due to the elements and the lack of a rampart, the structure had already begun to crumble, which was successfully addressed by rebuilding within a relatively tight timeframe.

"There was also a beauty to this work: while we also backfilled the hill, we also took care of the drainage of the area and the restoration of the contemporary herb garden and vineyard."

They managed to revive a historic building from old materials in a modern guise

Another significant period in the expert's life followed when he was involved in the large-scale development of Buda Castle between 2017 and 2021. One of the most notable projects was the reconstruction of the Royal Riding Hall, which was demolished in the 1950s, carried out by the WHB and LAKI Zrt. consortium. The expert previously gave a detailed interview to our newspaper about this project, which involved numerous exciting challenges. rel="noopener">the expert previously gave a detailed interview to our newspaper. "Perhaps the biggest challenge was to recreate the old building in such a way that it would meet today's modern requirements – providing high-quality solutions for heating, cooling, acoustics and lighting, among other things."

An even more concrete challenge was that part of the Riding Hall building fell into the castle garage and the other into the Turkish Garden, which had no support. "We had to drill more than a hundred piles into the latter, while in this area there are 30-metre-deep wells that drain the castle's rainwater into the Devil's Ditch. This pile-driving

Bringing back the old values down to the smallest detail

A further special feature of the project was the use of materials, as they used building materials found in our country and used in contemporary architecture. "The use of Slavonian oak and larch; the small bricks forming the external façade; the incorporation of Roman cement and the limestone of Süttö are all memorable elements; as is the terazzo tiling on the flooring, created by local craftsmen. This includes the fact that, by finding old designs, the old Ganz lamps have also been remanufactured - with the old pulley movement system, but now with modern lighting technology.

This period was enriched by the renovation of the High Guard and the Stöckl staircase leading to it, the reconstruction of the Taban lift pavilion, as well as the renovation of the Csikós Courtyard, the Hauszmann ramp and the Ybl ramp. In parallel, he also managed the renovation of the President's residence on Kossuth Square.

One of the most exciting days of his life marked the start of one of his biggest projects

At the closure of the projects described above, you were already aware that the construction of the Dunakeszi Student Quarter would start with the consortium work of WHB and LATEREX. The huge greenfield project started with the ground-breaking ceremony in March 2022.

Tibor Gábor Tóth entered the development in a key position, since he and Zsolt Bálint, the chief engineer of LATEREX, managed the consortium's implementation.

"The groundbreaking ceremony is also memorable because it was the busiest day of my life: from 9am to noon I attended the groundbreaking ceremony, at 3pm I received the Cross of Merit for the monumental works in the castle, and then in the evening I arrived at the professional day of the Hungarian State Opera House, which was also renewed by WEST HUNGÁRIA BAU Kft.!"

Looking back to the beginning of the project, he stressed that the construction of seven buildings had to be started simultaneously in the 35,000 square metre project, which is being implemented on 10 hectares. "We had to organise the logistics, deliveries and material handling very seriously. Priorities had to be set in advance, as there were times when several machines or materials arrived at the same time."

The tower cranes played a major role in this process, but they also had to bridge the 6 metre difference in level between the highest and lowest points in the area. "When we were setting up the cranes, we had to be careful which ones to lift and which ones to lower. In addition, the 7 tower cranes had to be erected in record time."

Despite the shortage of steel, they made it to the bocce at lightning speed

He emphasized that the project was extremely well prepared: "This is also the reason why we held a bushwalking ceremony in October after the groundbreaking ceremony in March." The Russian-Ukrainian war broke out at the same time as the project opened. "We were immediately faced with the fact that there was no steel to tie down. This was eventually resolved at enormous cost, but from then on we were constantly thinking several steps ahead."

To this end, the complete insulation, timber, utility pipes, several machines and the entire brick façade cladding were ordered in advance and installed. "With the latter, we had to watch out that the price moved closely with the gas price, which fluctuated enormously, and we then tried to follow it with complicated diagrams. But the same was true for rock wool, which had a weekly price!"

They were usually two to three months ahead of the deadline

Due to the size of the project, they had to supply huge quantities, including 10,000 square metres of brick façade cladding, 11,000 square metres of sheet metal roofing and 16 kilometres of cables. "Fortunately, good accessibility and time spent early on the organisational road helped the process."

Despite all these difficulties, the project has been progressing at a very good pace, always two or three months ahead of schedule, he says. The speed of the project was indicated by the fact that the basic electrical installations were almost completed in time for the bushwalk ceremony.

The "E" building, the vocational training wing, was the driving force behind the project

The role of the vocational training wing stood out for its rapid progress: being a smaller building, everything was prepared here first and all the samples were presented here. "What was accepted here went on to the other buildings. You can think of linoleum, a window ledge, or even a classroom."

In engineering, it also helped economy and speed by selecting a high-quality company for each trade and then using that company for each building in that trade. "Here again, you can tell the high level of preparation, as these engineering subcontractors were selected at the foundation stage."

The city welcomed and supported the contractors

On the topic of how to deal with problems quickly, he highlighted the work of the generic designer Incorso Design. "They worked closely with the construction team and tried to deal with any problems that arose almost immediately. We had a question at the consultation on Wednesday, we wrote an email, and by 5pm that evening we had a reply with a solution proposal supported by drawings."

Their cooperation with the Dunakeszi Municipality was also very fair, flexible and supportive. "We have developed a very good relationship with them, the mayor came out for weekly co-operations in the beginning and a delegate was in the field continuously afterwards. If we got stuck on public space, traffic engineering or anything else, we got help immediately." He added that they have developed such a good personal relationship that they have invited the consortium to Dunakeszi Days and Dunakeszi Mindmegeszi, and have been given a special tent at these events. "We felt like an integral part of the city and not just a temporary contractor."

They worked with the consortium partner respecting each other's ideas

He emphasized that the excellent relationship with LATEREX Építő Zrt. has helped the consortium work a lot. "We have developed a good team spirit and have been able to work in harmony and respect each other's ideas in the engineering office and in the field."

As for the distribution of tasks within the consortium, he said that they were not divided by building, but by workload: "Both companies brought their capacities into the consortium and we assigned tasks based on previous work experience: for example, the construction managers who had already built several halls were assigned to these buildings."

The project also showed the strengths of the WHB

According to the expert, in addition to the well-managed external relations, the companies belonging to the WHB group of companies have also contributed greatly to the success of the project in Dunakeszi. To give one example, he said that the entire project was clad and painted by Stucco Kft.. "It was a great help that they provided both the material procurement and the specialist staff in a professional manner, including the special cladding of the swimming pool, which was carried out to a high standard." It also increased the smoothness and predictability of the project that a member of the WHB group of companies provided the scaffolding for the entire worksite.

Looking beyond the Dunakeszi Students' Union, he also articulated a core value of the whole WHB.

"One of the main driving forces of my nearly ten years here is that I have bosses who can always be counted on when there's a bottleneck. Also, the fact that the professional core of the company is a very good team: including the BIM team, the IT backbone and HR colleagues, among others, is a big advantage. This results in the company being flexible in dealing with different problems and providing a solid back-up. Our employees don't have to worry about working conditions, instead they can focus on the task at hand."

Even a single facility could be a major improvement for a municipality

When asked for a personal reflection on the project, the Engineer of the Month described the construction of the Student Quarter as a kind of culmination project. "I could probably compare it to the Telenor headquarters, but I had a much bigger remit here than there."

This was to demonstrate the scale and importance of the unprecedented investment in education in Central Europe. "Just think of the sports facilities we have built: a sports hall with a capacity of two thousand and one thousand, as well as a gymnasium. I think that just one of these facilities would be a major improvement for a municipality." But he also pointed to the environmental importance of the development: "Thanks to a lot of planting, in a few years' time a grove will surround the lively school, which has 1,500 pupils - and in 2022 the site was still empty..."

They go forward like a football team

As a leader, he stressed confidence as a key to success on such a large scale. "Even if a project gets stuck, we builders always have the completion of the project in front of our eyes: we believe and make everyone feel that the project will be completed on time and to a high quality."

He stressed that if anyone got stuck anywhere, they could go to the project management, and if they didn't have the answer, the designer or the section designer could help. "We tried to avoid rolling any issue in front of us that could be detrimental to the project. A lot of the time, I feel like we go forward like a football team, we have the backs, the midfielders and the forward line, and we always know who we can count on."

Every house and every day you learn something

In conclusion, we also wanted to know how he, as a key player in the sector, sees the situation of the next generation and what his message is to young people looking to the construction industry. "We can see that the number of people is decreasing for some reason, but at the same time I can say that financially it is a well-paid profession, even if it has many difficulties. I'm not saying it's a tension-free sector; however, just as no two buildings are the same, no two years are the same, no two jobs are the same and no two challenges are the same in construction."

"Anyone who comes here will always encounter new technologies and new materials; at the same time, you can discover and participate in the conservation of the wonderful old works of art in the listed buildings. I have been doing this for 22 years now, but I learn something new on every building!" - he concluded.