New life on Pilis-tető: this year’s CheckInn winners

Date: 2024.09.20

Organised with professional support from MOME for the 3rd year in a row, the CheckINN Revitaliser idea competition invited university students from across Hungary to submit plans for the revitalisation of approximately 12,000 hectares of unused rust zone and brownfield sites in the country for potentially touristic purposes. The winning team, whose members include several MOME students, focused on rejuvenating the barren Pilis-tető by repurposing its abandoned buildings and restoring the surrounding natural environment.

Teams of three students enrolled in Hungarian higher education institutions, regardless of their field of study, were eligible to enter the competition. This year saw a significant number of entries from Szeged, Gyöngyös, and Eger, while the majority of participants came from universities in Budapest. Interestingly however, only 15 per cent of the proposed project sites were located in the capital.

The nine best teams presented their ideas to a panel of expert judges at the finals and awards ceremony in September. The jury included urban development expert Gábor Soóki-Tóth, architect Péter Hámori, tourism consultant Attila Hegedűs, pitch trainer Zita Komár, CEO of BDPST Hotel Management Zrt. Zoltán Somlyai, and MOME’s CEO Réka Matheidesz.

The first prize went to Team Fészek, who proposed the creation of the Fészek Tourist Point on the barren slopes of Pilis-tető. The team comprised Réka Márkus from the Corvinus University of Budapest and MOME architecture students Kristóf Lipótzy and Borbála Véghelyi.

Their plan would transform existing structures into a community space offering accommodation and rest areas for hikers. A key focus of their project is the reforestation and rehabilitation of the degraded natural environment. To protect endangered plant and animal species, the primary goal of the landscape management plan is to guide human activity along designated trails while creating high-biodiversity habitats.

(📸: CheckINN/Somay Márk - event photos)

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