MOME to modernize its Campus Park in response to the challenges of climate change

Date: 2023.09.04
A community garden, pond and memorial park - new features brighten up the MOME campus, which is unlike any other in the region. Development work will start as early as this autumn. The expansion and renewal of the green areas has been planned by outstanding ecologists and landscape architects, but the university’s own students will also actively take part in this long-term project. Since the MOME campus is a community park and belongs to everyone, the newly developed recreational green areas will be open to locals and visitors to enjoy.

The university, whose goal is to become climate neutral by 2030, came up with the concepts for the pioneering renovation in response to climate change. The aim is to help protect the ecosystem of the community park, as well as to ensure that aside from university staff and students, the district’s residents can also enjoy its recreational features.

Freely accessible from the street front, the 15,000 square-metre park will see the renovation of the gateway between the MOME UP and MASTER buildings and the amphitheatre-style space with rows of stairs in front of MOME GROUND, as well as others areas. However, one of the most important new units will be the community garden behind the UP building, which the students will tend to with the guidance of professionals. MOME citizens will grow herbs and vegetables, and they will also plant fruit bushes.

Since extreme precipitation events are getting more and more common, new and modern water collection sites and micro hills will be created to direct water into rain gardens that will be added to the park. The new aquatic habitat in front of the Gond-űző building will liven up the pond that used to be hidden inside the campus garden as well as the wild and beautiful atmosphere around it. The water area will play an important part in sustaining the surrounding wildlife, serving as a drinking spot for birds.

The park’s existing green areas will also become richer and more lush, supplemented by plant species native to the Buda hills and that support the region’s flora and micro climate. The plants, which include sage, cushion spurge, catnip and mullein, have been chosen for their long blooming periods, their ability to withstand extreme climates and drought conditions, and the fact that they will provide a home and food for birds and insects. 

The worn-out lawn by the big stairs in front of MOME Ground, which is a popular relaxation spot among students, will be replaced by decking that will serve as both seating and a walkway, and each stair level will feature Callery pear trees, which can withstand drought and provide shade.

The memorial park behind the MOME TWO building will further strengthen the MOME community and identity. The park commemorates the university’s important teachers and graduates, as well as those of its predecessor, the College of Arts and Crafts. These include great artists like Frigyes Pogány, István Jákli and Tamás Nagy. 

More news

The Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME) continues its forest-planting initiative, with MOME students and staff planting a new forest in the Vízvár area in collaboration with experts from the Danube-Drava National Park on 14 to 16 November. The action will be preceded by professional events at MOME’s Budapest Campus, starting on 12 November with a lecture by biomimicry researcher Yael Helfman-Cohen from Tel Aviv, followed by biologist and Head of WWF Hungary’s Forest Programme Dr. László Gálhidy on 13 November.

Celebrated graphic artist and designer of the iconic Zoom, István Bányai was a defining figure in the history of press and magazines. Known for his work with The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, New York, and Playboy, he would have turned 75 this year. To honour his legacy, his alma mater, the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME), will present a selection of his work in an exhibition this November, offering a contemporary perspective on his oeuvre for the first time in Hungary.

“A piece from which its owner can draw strength" – this is how designer Bálint Szalai described the new Highlights of Hungary award trophy, co-designed with fellow designer Adrienn Király as the prestigious event marks the beginning of its second decade this year. This year’s recipients were the first to hold the new trophy, while the Kreatív Magazine special award was presented to MOME senior lecturer and designer of the Your Nature collection Apol Temesi. All three designers are proud MOME alumni who remain closely connected to their alma mater.
Member of the European
Network of
Innovative
Higher Education Institutions
9 Zugligeti St,
Budapest, 1121