Bjarke Ingels Group to create 23,000 sqm institution in Debrecen
Tenderstream member Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) - in collaboration with Vikár és Lukács Építés Stúdió, Museum Studio and TYPSA - has been selected to design the home of the new Hungarian Natural History Museum in the country's second-largest city, Debrecen. The 23,000 sqm museum will replace the existing institution in Budapest, supporting the government’s vision to establish Debrecen as a key regional hub for education and culture by 2030. Commissioned by the Museum and the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, the museum will house permanent and temporary exhibition halls, educational and research facilities, public amenities and back-of-house spaces.
Nestled within the centuries-old Great Forest in the northern part of the city, the design proposes three overlapping landscaped ribbons that gently rise from the forest floor, featuring sloping green roofs planted with native species. Approaching from any direction, visitors are met with open plazas, winding paths and framed views through and over the building. Inside, the reception hall acts as a central compass point, offering glimpses into the surrounding exhibition wings. Above, a library and restaurant offer views across the forest, while below, a learning hub hosts workshops, play spaces and research labs for students, families and staff.
Bjarke Ingels, founder and creative director of BIG, stated: “Natural history is a subject dear to me – so dear that I named my oldest son Darwin. To that end, it is a great honour to have been entrusted with the authorship of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in the Great Forest of Debrecen. Our design is conceived as an intersection of paths and lineages. Intersecting ribbons of landscape overlap to produce a series of niches and habitats, halls and galleries….The result is a manmade hill in a forest clearing; geometrically clear yet softly organic - an appropriate home for the wonders of the natural world.”
Lucy Nordberg
Tenderstream Head of Research
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