THESIS PROJECT

from Architecture Portfolio 2023

THESIS PROJECT

Co-Working office building in the city of Pecs, Hungary.

The design of Workspaces is very essential, as this directly affects the psychology of its inhabitants the same way a residential or any other type of building does. A good layout of an office space can boost the productivity of the employees and staff, a bad design can equally do the opposite. Co-working spaces have been innovative in this regard and the idea has proven to excel in that niche, which led me to personally fall in love with it despite having seen or visited very few of them. I believe office spaces in general shouldn’t be only accessible to wealthy companies, small novice groups should be able to afford a conducive environment for productivity as well.

With the current situation of the entire globe working and schooling from home due to the pandemic, the use of such spaces has declined drastically, furthermore being forced to carry out 80% of our activities from home for the past one year has made us appreciate our social lives a lot. The general questions remain;

•What will our lives be like after a global pandemic?

•What social measures will be taken from this point going forward?

•What role will architecture play in the design of spaces in the future?

•Lastly, how different will our workplaces feel after working from home for more than a year?

These are not easy questions to answer, however for my diploma project, I attempted to take a new approach to design a space, which shouldn’t only focus on 9-5 working, but encourage social reintegration for all the time lost. To focus on not only the functional arrangement of this space, but it’s psychological effects on the users as well, such a space should fulfill the criteria of being contemporary with a simple functional system, and affordable for small scale group of individuals (startup companies) on a low budget. Moreover statistics show that people in coworking spaces are 74% more productive and 70% healthier than people in traditional office environments.

Pécs is the fifth largest city in Hungary, with a population of about 150,000 people. It is located in the south-west of Hungary. It is the administrative and economic centre of Baranya county. The town lies on the southern slopes of the Mecsek Hills, and has a moderate, almost Mediterranean climate. Pécs has a rich cultural life, hosts a wide variety of galleries and museums, and boasts numerous historical buildings such as the Basilica of Pécs. Several Turkish buildings dating back to the age of the Ottoman Empire (16th and 17th centuries) give the city a multicultural atmosphere. Just 10 years ago in 2010, the town of Pécs was selected as one of the European Capitals of Culture for 2010.

• The co-working is self explanatory, a volume full of offices on every floor except the ground floor and the last floor.

• The private contains individual offices and meeting rooms.

• The public areas are general spaces accessible to the public like conference rooms, entrances and cafeteria.

• The circulation areas are elevators, stairs and restrooms.

• The social area is a leisure space where workers can take breaks and hangout, which may contain lounges and game rooms.

• The pro-well being are elements that improve mental health indirectly by being present in various spaces. Such elements may include green walls, flower pots, terraces where inhabitants can go take fresh air and also serve as socialization spaces. Pastel colors are also a common aesthetic touch to the interior design.

Design Projects

Reinforced concrete columns and beams

Concrete slabs and roof

Design Projects

The goal was to design a small scale building ; namely a tiny cabin house. The emphasis was on the construction & loadbearing system being lightweight.

The plot for the project is located at the peak of a small countryside lake called‘ Orfű’which is 30 minutes away from the city of Pecs itself.

During the design process, lightweight construction method is used. The primary load-bearing structure is made of wood, cross laminated timber to be precise (CLT). The entire construction is a prefabricated system.

Another important characteristic is a continuous thermal envelope that runs throughout the building.