Shell tailored to eggs

The main building of the new campus of the Faculty of Economics at the University of János Neumann in Kecskemét, Hungary, boasts a unique creation in the form of the so-called stock exchange egg. It literally hangs in the foyer, directly opposite the main entrance, and is meant to resemble the rooms of the Frankfurt or New York stock exchange. The main building with the stock exchange egg is only the first of six planned structures that LIMA Design Ltd. has envisioned in collaboration with architects from Bánáti and Hartvig.

Bánáti + Hartvig Architects

The Bánáti + Hartvig Architects studio has been ranked among the 35 most significant architectural firms in Hungary since 2010. Currently, the studio focuses not only on sustainability but also on clean shapes. They always seek the ideal balance on many levels of their projects. A few months ago, they decided to commit to the WELL principle. This is to be a certain attitude, a kind of guide for a better future, which Lajos Hartvig would like to implement more in his office, and especially in future projects. WELL encompasses aspects of sustainability at ecological, economic, social, and psychological levels. According to him, challenges will change particularly in residential construction because we must consider that there is always a risk of global pandemics. "Viruses have been here, are here, and will always be here, and architecture will have to adapt accordingly by communicating distance and separation instead of closeness and confinement," says Hartvig. "We need to plan enough space for home offices in apartments, which will affect the office building market. These will significantly decrease in the future. Although no one knows what awaits us, I am an optimist and believe that technical development is progressing fast enough to respond and timely change the established concept of construction. The important thing is a sense of creativity and awareness of sustainability. We must take care of our Earth with architecture that will protect it," clarifies Lajos Hartvig.

Stock Exchange Egg

The entire campus exudes an atmosphere of openness, modern technology, and a sense of urban lifestyle. Once completed, all buildings on the campus will be open to the public and will become a driving force in the region. Problems faced by local communities will be addressed here in seminars and lectures, and even the study program will be adapted according to them. Simulation of stock exchange processes is also planned in Kecskemét. This is why the stock exchange egg was created. However, it is not a classic seminar room but rather an object in space. The shape of the egg is quite magnificent in architecture, especially since it is a suspended egg weighing over 88 tons with an aluminum shell. "The realization of the egg was naturally complicated. It had to hang freely in space, and the construction of the building surrounding it was all the more complex from a static point of view," describes Lajos Hartvig. "We had several ideas on how to cover the steel structure. At first, we wanted to use 3D-shaped parts made of Corian or acrylic glass, similar to those used on the façade of the House of Arts in Graz. However, that was too expensive for the relatively small surface of the egg," adds Hartvig. "With light aluminum sheet roofing PREFALZ, it was possible to cover the curved shape in smaller segments without losing the character of the shell," explains Ágnes Székely, who was tasked with this part of the project. The invisible properties of the material were also preserved. While the supporting steel structure weighs as much as 87 cars, the aluminum roof PREFA weighs less than a ton. The actual egg, in terms of the weight relationship between the shell and the inside, has the same ratio.

The Egg is Not a Soccer Ball

The roofing company Tamás Ombodi does not own a website, nor do they even have business cards. They have never needed them, as they have always received their work based on recommendations. This was also the case for the project at the campus in Kecskemét. "For our work on the stock exchange egg, we had to think and plan a lot," explains Ombodi, adding that they specialize in technically unusual roofing works. Planning took about two months. The actual wrapping of the elegant, matte-colored steel structure object with aluminum sheet PREFALZ took exactly 35 days.

"The egg has a different shape than a soccer ball. Each surface element is different due to the curvature. This is complicated, but also very special," says Tamas Ombodi while discussing the formal challenges of the project. For this reason, the stock exchange egg required unconventional working processes. "Normally, we would lay the aluminum skin from the bottom up." However, the object is located inside the structure, so the roofing does not need to be protected from rain. Additionally, the horizontally positioned steel beam structure allowed movement around the object during the cladding installation. Therefore, in this case, it was easier to install the cladding from the top down.

About the Project

Type of construction: new building Implementation: Téthis-Kovács Kft.
Type of facade: PREFA Prefalz
Facade color: P.10 prefa white
PHOTOGRAPHY: Croce & WIR