MOME UP. Innovation Centre
The most unconventional member of the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design’ third stage development pavilion complex triad (MOME A, BASE, UP) is the home to, among other things, the university’s DLA training.
MOME UP, the university’s Innovation Centre, is not merely open for students, but also for fascinated visitors: the library, located on the ground and first floor contains an impressive collection accessible for public eyes. Yet, it is not the only spectacle worthy of observation; this building of 6000 m2 is an unusual visual experience in itself, created with Moholy-Nagy’s light experiments in mind. The notion of sharpness and blurr, the varying depth of the field and the analog technique’s randomity have all shaped the final form of UP.
The space of the building’s inner atrium is transformed by a double system of holes that rotate 90 degrees per level, allowing different visibility in each spatial situation. Transparency has been created internally as the structure both horizontally and vertically becomes visible, but from the outside the building has an interesting, semi-pervious look. To create an innovative environment and to recenter the attention towards each other, the external environment was somewhat deliberately visually excluded. In such a space, which is defined by the creative, hands-on process it facilitates it was important to let the natural light in while trying to avoid a traditionally lit setting.
The large glazed windows that make the inner shell of the façade are covered by an outer, sandblasted glass panel lamella unit. This lamella system is also in charge of the shading function as well as helping the natural ventilation of the building through stimulating the movement of warm air. The glass panels of the outer shell almost come to life as they capture the light and play with it; as if the building wasn’t fully materialized, but a fascinating apparation ocurring in the viewer’s field of vision.
Contrast appears as the commuting path divides the building into two, and the ’bridges’ become a somewhat ingraspable shadow in-between, deepening the feeling of separation. The spatial arrangements of the building’s functions have also adapted to this design:
the slimmer wing is the home to open space ’studies’ facilitating for both inedpendent and collaborational work.
The main wing hosts the public areas (library, consultation rooms) which can be found on the ground floor. The office and storage locations are on the gallery level. The levels above the library were organized on a modular basis for flexible usability. Partitions are located between the pillars and halfway between the pillars, uniformly dividing the rooms. The functional layout was left undefined, except for the following areas: the coworking space at the bottom level of UP serving as the point of gravity, the kitchenettes that can accommodate joint working lunches, the laboratory, and administration at the top level and the apartments. The entrance to the Innovation Centre opens from Zugligeti way, it is the first entrance point of the campus. On the basement level below the Innovation Centre, there are warehouses, mechanical and electrical areas, as well as a dressing-shower block for those arriving by bicycle on campus.
The main entrance of the university and the three educational buildings (MOME A, B and UP) are connected by the underground MOME GROUND along the Zugliget way. During the planning, care was taken to ensure that the areas below ground level also received natural light and ventilation.
The layout of the lobby and multifunctional space GROUND responds to the challenge that the development has posed in this area. It was important that the natural terrain remains dominant from the side of Zugligeti way, therefore two wide entrances were created on the campus that lead through the park’s green surface. The main entrance to MOME is a funnel-shaped body integrated into the terrain, which bears a rather landart-like character instead of reminding the viewer of a ’building’. The grandious opening of the GROUND emerges from the inner park signaling; this is where the inner life of the campus happens. The specially designed hall can serve as a venue for various events, such as exhibitions, screenings, graduations. The generous staircase outdoors is an extrension of the aula, and can be joint together in good weather thanks to the linkable surfaces of the reception area. The canteen is located in the immediate vicinity of the hall, yet separated in space also alowing visitors to dine outside. The service kitchen was placed under the park. The GROUND is directly connected to the Technology Park through a corridor, along which we placed the printshop function.
