Peterfia Corner

Creating a new face for a building is always a great challenge, especially if the location is in an unbroken building line in the city centre.

Peterfia Corner is located in the centre of Debrecen, the second biggest city of Hungary. The building that used to be known as the Trade Union Headquarters went through a complete transformation, so the renewed form with its fresh and dynamic appearance became an exciting and novel sight of the city.

According to the programme, our studio was to create modern, premium quality residential and office areas in the former Trade Union Building. In mutual agreement with the contractors we preserved the original prefabricated reinforced concrete pillar structure with the elevator and stair cores for ecological reasons: everything was demolished with the exception of the loadbearing system.

The aim was to design rational and clear functional connections and a unique, modern and dynamic building that fits into its urban environment.

The new building is highly comfortable and without doubt it meets the requirements of modern life. The different functions are separated from each other: the reception area, the restaurant, the café and the shop are on the ground floor. These public spaces are separated from or if you like connected with the street by a huge glass wall. The arrival level of the former mezzanine used to be above the street level. By demolishing the ceiling in the entrance zone, the arrival level could be shifted to the street level thus creating direct reach of the public areas. The offices and the flats are located on the upper levels.

The even line of the street front is broken by rhythmical waves of glass surfaces.

The façade of the first four stories has light grey aluminium sheet covering. The balconies are like recessed ‘monitors’ that reflect the architecture of the surrounding buildings and they are shifted in every floor to create a dynamic look. The two top residential stories are newly built; the stair-like appearance of these creates a fine transition between the different heights of the neighbouring buildings. Wellness, sauna and Jacuzzi services are available for the residents in the basement. The extra parking spaces necessary for the new function are in the basement and in the courtyard.