New life on Pilis-tető: this year’s CheckInn winners

Organised with professional support from MOME for the 3rd year in a row, the CheckINN Revitaliser idea competition invited university students from across Hungary to submit plans for the revitalisation of approximately 12,000 hectares of unused rust zone and brownfield sites in the country for potentially touristic purposes. The winning team, whose members include several MOME students, focused on rejuvenating the barren Pilis-tető by repurposing its abandoned buildings and restoring the surrounding natural environment.

Teams of three students enrolled in Hungarian higher education institutions, regardless of their field of study, were eligible to enter the competition. This year saw a significant number of entries from Szeged, Gyöngyös, and Eger, while the majority of participants came from universities in Budapest. Interestingly however, only 15 per cent of the proposed project sites were located in the capital. The nine best teams presented their ideas to a panel of expert judges at the finals and awards ceremony in September. The jury included urban development expert Gábor Soóki-Tóth, architect Péter Hámori, tourism consultant Attila Hegedűs, pitch trainer Zita Komár, CEO of BDPST Hotel Management Zrt. Zoltán Somlyai, and MOME’s CEO Réka Matheidesz.   

The first prize went to Team Fészek, who proposed the creation of the Fészek Tourist Point on the barren slopes of Pilis-tető. The team comprised Réka Márkus from the Corvinus University of Budapest and MOME architecture students Kristóf Lipótzy and Borbála Véghelyi. Their plan would transform existing structures into a community space offering accommodation and rest areas for hikers. A key focus of their project is the reforestation and rehabilitation of the degraded natural environment. To protect endangered plant and animal species, the primary goal of the landscape management plan is to guide human activity along designated trails while creating high-biodiversity habitats.  

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Once again, the Stefan Lengyel Scholarship of Excellence has been awarded to talented MOME students to recognise their outstanding achievements. The winning projects of the 2023/2024 spring semester feature a range of experimental works that addresses current social issues, spanning from video games to research, architectural revitalisation projects, and developmental tools for children.

Since 2020, students of MOME’s Institute for Theoretical Studies have had the opportunity to apply for the 1-year grant specifically supporting the early careers of curators and theoretical experts five times in a row. In the 2024/2025 academic year, the final iteration of the grant was awarded to the editorial team of Rendes Kapuőrök, a group of ten Design Theory MA students, for their concept of an Instagram platform dedicated to exhibition criticism.

In recent days, our colleagues, faculty, and students have shown just what MOME is capable of when faced with a crisis. This week, volunteers from MOME have been working in Vác, helping fill sandbags to support official agencies in their flood defence efforts along the frontlines. With the emergency situation expected to last several more days, every helping hand is needed, and MOME is once again showing that its strengths lie not only in knowledge, but also in its ability to act swiftly when required.
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