Hungarian real estate developers won seven medals at the world’s most prestigious competition
In addition to the Hungarian Heritage House in Budai Vigadó, the 16th-century tomb of Gül Baba and a unique zoo hotel were also awarded at the world’s most prestigious real estate development competition.
The Fédération Internationale des Administrateurs de Bien-Conselis Immobiliers (The International Real Estate Federation in English) is a global business networking organisation that was founded in 1951 in Paris. With chapters currently operating in more than 60 countries, FIABCI represents every discipline in the industry and links thousands of real estate professionals worldwide.
Every year, FIABCI organises the “Prix d’Excellence Awards” to select and recognise the most successful real estate developments. The initiative was first launched 28 years ago, and it has become the world’s most prestigious real estate development tender since then. This year, the international jury comprised 63 professionals and experts from 31 countries, representing various special sectors of the real estate development profession.
Nominees are judged according to the following criteria: the concept and result of real estate development, architectural merit and urban planning, and the duration and quality of execution. Aesthetics, functionality, the social utility of real estate development and several environmental aspects are also taken into consideration, Forbes reported.
In the last 20 years, Hungarian real estate developers have won the FIABCI World Prix d’Excellence Award 24 times in different categories and took second place 35 times.
World Gold Winner in “Heritage” category
The competition is divided into 16 categories, including “Affordable Housing”, “Environmental”, “Hotel”, “Industrial”, “Master Plan” and “Retail”. The same building may enter for more than one category; for example, if the building is used as a hotel, the owner may enter for Heritage Category and Hotel Category at the same time. Any restored building can be nominated in the “Heritage (Restoration/Conservation)” category that has been identified by the relevant authorities for Heritage Conservation.
In 2020, the historical building of the former “Vigadó” of Buda received the Gold Winner award in this category.
The building was severely damaged in WWII, and the consequent restoration works did not take into account the former design and layout, yielding a considerably less impressive and less suitable outlook. It was issued to the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, and currently, the building serves multifunctional cultural purposes: it functions as the head office of the Hungarian Heritage House and the Hungarian Institute for Culture and Arts. The latest restoration project aimed to recover the building’s original, impressive outlook, while connecting it to the spirit of the Hungarian Heritage House and folk culture.
“Public Infrastructure /Amenities” category
The tomb of Gül Baba won an award in two categories: it was selected as World Gold Winner in the category of “Public Infrastructure /Amenities” and World Silver Winner in the “Heritage” category.
The monument is one of the northernmost Muslim pilgrimage sites and it also has a significant historical and architectural value. The renovation of Gül Baba’s tomb and its surroundings was co-financed by Hungary and Turkey and it took place between 2016 and 2018.
World Silver Winner in “Hotel” category
Sóstó Zoo was opened in 1974, and it is situated in a distance of 5 kilometres from the city of Nyíregyháza, in the holiday resort of Sóstó, where the beach, the open-air museum and the forest offer various recreational activities for the visitors. It has been awarded the title of the Best Zoo in Europe in 2015 and 2018.
The mission of Nyíregyházi Állatpark Nonprofit Kft. is to provide access for the upcoming generation to a world-class exhibition of our ecological environment to teach and raise awareness of the unity of our natural environment, and the responsibility of humankind to save it for the future. The zoo’s unique hotel and conference centre can be found in a 35-hectare oak forest, and it blends seamlessly into the local ecosystem.
At this year’s FIABCI World Prix d’ Excellence, Hotel Pangea Ökocentrum became the World Silver Winner in the “Hotel” category.
“Sustainable Development” and “Office” categories
Swietelsky Magyarország Kft. won a silver medal with the Ecodome Office Building in the category of “Sustainable Development”. The ergonomic and modern office building is located in Central Buda, in close proximity to Déli Pályaudvar. Due to its environmentally conscious solutions, the building has earned LEED platinum certification.
Promenade Gardens and Váci Greens both received World Silver Award in the “Office” category. Promenade Gardens is the most extensive scale office development with the most complex technical content on Váci út, the main office corridor of Budapest. The building offers the most advanced technological features, including many innovative solutions that focus on thermal control, wellbeing, energy efficiency in heating and lighting, and optimised water consumption.
Váci Greens is a large-scale, campus-style development with over 130,000 square metres of exclusive “A+” class offices within an extensive green working environment. Its buildings were designed to combine the best architectural design with the latest construction techniques to reduce operational costs and the environmental impacts of the project.
Source: forbes.hu