Central European University is located in six buildings in the historical center of Budapest and at the same time - in the buffer zone of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The buildings of different times were little connected with each other, so the architects were given the task of turning a piece of urban fabric into a kind of crossroads with new public spaces, connecting the buildings of the university with each other and with adjacent streets.
The first stage of reconstruction has now been completed, there are two more ahead. By the 25th anniversary of the university, celebrated last year, a new building with a limestone facade appeared: many buildings in Budapest were built from the same stone quarried near the Hungarian capital. In proportion, it also corresponds to a typical city center development. Inside is a library, study spaces, a multi-functional hall and conference rooms. The adjacent building was rebuilt: there was an atrium with spectacular staircases, the upper levels were occupied by a business school and classrooms. The old and the new buildings received a common green roof-terrace, from where panoramas of the city open.
In addition to limestone, architects, known for their sensitivity to materials, chose brick, wood and concrete for the university. They also designed a significant part of the furniture. The total area of the new and rebuilt buildings is 15,638 m2 (the campus as a whole after the completion of the reconstruction is 35,000 m2), the budget of the first stage is 21.5 million euros.
