Central European University Precedent

Arch 100b Spring ‘20

The new Central European University campus in Budapest, Hungary is an urban infill project by O’Donnell + Tuomey. The campus master plan involves the retrofit of five separate historic buildings and the construction of two new buildings to create a vibrant campus in the heart of Budapest. The architects reinvented the archetypal courtyard and passageway building found across Budapest to create a sense of place and community in the urban college campus, provide air and light during the summer and spring, and provide a warm yet light place to study in the snowy winters. The model emphasizes the courtyard in a cross-section of one retrofitted historic building and one newly constructed building connected by the interlacing stairways and passageways.