The foundation stone was laid on 20 September 2016 by Dr. János Fónagy, parliamentary state secretary at the Ministry for National Development, Noah Steinberg, Chairman & CEO of Wing Zrt., and Ericsson Hungary’s CEO Gábor Éry. Speeches were also made at the event by Dr. Tamás Hoffmann, Mayor of District 11 (“Újbuda”), and His Excellency the Ambassador of Sweden to Hungary, Niclas Trouvé.
The Hungarian Nobel Prize Winners Research & Development Park will be home to a complex of buildings created by Wing specifically to suit the needs of companies engaged in research and development. The planned buildings, rising to meet the challenges of the 21st century, are intended to stand as a monument to Hungary’s Nobel Prize Winners, and the name pays homage to their myriad achievements. As the first phase of the investment, the new 24,000 square metre Ericsson Building being constructed on a site overlooking the Danube will be the company’s largest research and development centre outside Sweden, and besides the offices it will also house one of Hungary’s largest and most modern server rooms, as well as the R&D laboratories connected to these.
The six-storey building is being tailored specifically to suit the needs of the client, Ericsson. In terms of its form, function and the discerning architectural solutions employed, it blends in superbly with the surrounding environment. The facility will have 540 parking spaces and facilities for storing 250 bicycles, all housed on the four levels underneath the building. Wing Zrt. is using environmentally friendly solutions not only in the finished building, but also during the construction work. Accordingly, for example, preference is being given to locally manufactured, and recycled materials. The work is scheduled for completion at the end of 2017, and during the move Ericsson employees will arrive from all over the world. Some 1,800 people are expected to work in the headquarters building.
In his speech Noah Steinberg, Chairman & CEO of the building’s developer Wing Zrt, highlighted that, as Hungary’s market-leading office developer, they are proud to have the opportunity to contribute to the built environment of Budapest, and the whole country, with yet another important building. “Wing strives to construct forward-looking buildings, and in doing so to create economic value, improve the cityscape and provide new functionality. The Ericsson Building, the first unit in the Hungarian Nobel Prize Winners Research & Development Park, will be one such innovative, environmentally friendly, world-class building”, said Steinberg. He added that “For the Hungarian national economy to be competitive in the global arena, it is important for the international companies that operate here to have the right infrastructure at their disposal, so that the Hungarian workforce can fulfil its true potential. For this, it is essential to have financially strong, stable domestic companies with the necessary expertise, who are capable of creating this infrastructure. Wing is just such a company, and the new headquarters created by us will provide a high-quality base for Ericsson’s future operation.”
“This year we’re celebrating the 25th anniversary of the foundation of Ericsson Hungary. The construction of the Ericsson Building is an important milestone for us, as for the first time we will be able to move into a shared office designed specifically with our needs in mind, where the research and development, sales and service divisions can all work in the same building, where all their special requirements are catered for. I believe that Ericsson’s new home, with its special design, will promote creativity and closer collaboration between the R&D and sales divisions, which could in turn contribute to more new technological breakthroughs. In future our colleagues will not only work for the world leader in communication technologies and services, but will do so in one of Hungary’s most modern and greenest office buildings, in the heart of Budapest’s information and communication technologies (ICT) hub, said Ericsson Hungary’s CEO Gábor Éry. “The new building also sends out a message that Ericsson plans for the long term in Hungary, and that our country continues to be one of the most important centres for research and development in Europe and the world,” he added.
The building was designed by Wing subsidiary Aspectus Architect, led by László Szerdahelyi, and the general contractor is Strabag Hungary. The investment is being financed by a consortium of banks, consisting of UniCredit Bank Hungary, UniCredit Bank Austria and K&H Bank. The first phase will be followed, in the second phase, by the development of a similar building on the part of the site near to Rákóczi Bridge. Wing is already working on the designs and preparation for this.
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