The project also marks a first for Hungary, as the new extension is the country's first public building to be constructed entirely from wood.

Completed in just one year, the development involved the comprehensive renovation of the former Department of Mathematics and Descriptive Geometry building, together with the addition of a new three-storey wing.

Rather than replacing the existing structure, the project brings together architecture from different periods, creating a dialogue between the university's past and its future.

Designed by architect Dávid Józsa, the complex is built around three distinct architectural elements.

The first represents the past. The original clinker brick building, designed in 1942 by architect Oszkár Winkler, has been carefully restored in keeping with its historic character.

Winkler's distinctive rounded architectural forms have also influenced the design of the new building, with their shape echoed in its loggia system.

The second element is the connecting section, a minimalist exposed concrete wing that links the historic building with the new extension.

Its restrained design pays tribute to 20th-century modernist architecture while creating both a physical and visual transition between old and new.

The third element looks firmly to the future. The new three-storey extension has been constructed using cross-laminated timber (CLT), an increasingly important sustainable building technology.

Its exterior is clad in thermally modified wood, known as Thermowood, which requires no chemical treatment and is highly resistant to the weather. As the building ages, the timber will gradually develop a natural patina, reflecting the material's life cycle rather than concealing it.

The new building will become the home of the University of Sopron's Institute for Creative Industries.

The facilities have been designed to support students and academic staff working across art, design, graphic design and architecture, providing contemporary studio spaces that encourage both individual work and collaboration.

One of the building's defining features is its spacious, light-filled top floor, conceived as a shared creative environment where students from different years and disciplines can work alongside one another.

The open layout is intended to encourage collaboration, the exchange of ideas and interdisciplinary learning.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Professor Dr Attila Fábián, Rector of the University of Sopron, reflected on the significance of the project.

"We may have taken a bold step, but I believe we made the right decision. We have successfully renovated a much-needed part of our university while preserving the values of our past. It is particularly moving that this building also carries the work of colleagues whose parents once taught here. They paid attention to every detail to ensure that this building not only serves us but also respects nature. In this way, our university continues to be the intellectual home of Hungarian forestry."

Architect Dávid Józsa explained that the design sought to give equal importance to both the existing building and the contemporary addition.

"The architectural concept was to place the old and the new on an equal footing. Visitors will discover many carefully considered details in the new wooden building. The façade patterns subtly reference the flourishing period of European timber architecture around the turn of the 20th century.

The arrangement of the timber cladding also recalls the Swiss villa architecture of the 19th century and reflects the distinctive atmosphere of Sopron's Lővérek district."

The opening of the Fusion Creative Studio forms part of the university's long-term "One University – One Campus" master plan.

The programme focuses not simply on constructing new buildings but on thoughtfully reinterpreting and integrating existing ones.

As part of the redevelopment, the deteriorated and structurally unsafe F14 lecture hall was demolished to create space for the new facilities.

The wider campus landscape has also been carefully considered. The university grounds extend into Sopron's Botanical Garden, which has been developing for more than a century.

Between the new creative studio and the neighbouring Ligneum event centre, a new green community space has been created to strengthen the connection between the buildings and the surrounding landscape.

A newly planted golden pine from the Netherlands now stands in front of the building as a symbol of this vision, reflecting the university's aim of bringing together architecture, community life and the city's long-standing botanical heritage.

Photo: Péter Rombai/University of Sopron

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