Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Debrecen and Manufacturing Center
Design Year: 2022
Completion: 2024
Size: 6,700 m², including 4,300 m² for educational purposes and 2,400 m² for industrial functions (Ground floor + 4 floors)
Function
The building’s educational wing is a "T" shaped, central-corridor, four-story structure. The ground floor includes two lecture halls, each with a capacity of 100 people, an auditorium, and administrative offices. The upper floors house research and teaching laboratories, classrooms, a library, and a simulation facility. The building will host the Dean's Office and four departments of the University of Debrecen’s Faculty of Pharmacy: the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, the Department of Biopharmacy, the Department of Pharmacology, and the Department of Herbal and Drug Knowledge.
The other wing of the building will function as a GMP and IFS compliant pharmaceutical manufacturing technology facility. In the new research center, alongside its own projects, the university will provide research and manufacturing opportunities for industrial partners related to the health industry cluster established by the university. The research and development laboratory will offer opportunities for the laboratory development of various products, with a particular focus on registered pharmaceutical preparations. A typical issue for participants in pharmaceutical sciences education is the difficulty of accessing operational pharmaceutical factories due to strict regulations, limiting their ability to gain practical knowledge. Therefore, we have provided multiple observational opportunities from the university area, including the development of a simulation facility where students can familiarize themselves with cleanroom conditions. Additionally, they will be able to participate in the operations of a university-run manufacturing facility.
Location
The greenfield investment is situated in the northeastern part of Debrecen, just a few minutes from the university campus. In recent years, several manufacturing, office, and university functions have been developed on the neighboring plots. The built industrial environment is characterized by 1-2 story anthracite-colored warehouse cuboids, but the University Innovation Park is also located just a few blocks away. To the north of the site, there are still actively farmed agricultural areas.
Concept
The unique aspect of the design lies in the encounter of two distinct functions within a single building, where the public and open educational facility forms a composition with the closed, box-like mass of the manufacturing unit. This interaction is inspired by the research work conducted in the laboratories: the dissolution, effervescence, and the visually striking process of chemical transformation. During the chemical reaction, the two different building masses interact with each other. The white, foam-like upper mass dissolves the lower angular material, which in turn responds, creating larger openings that seem to float on the white façade. The industrial part of the building draws from the architecture of the surrounding anthracite-clad warehouses, while the university section features a more sophisticated, detail-rich mass on top.
