Woven from Wood – Student Exhibition at the Faculty of Architecture

An exhibition featuring installations designed and built by fourth-year students of the Form and Structure Specialization using digital design tools has opened at the Faculty of Architecture. In addition to the completed works, the exhibition also presents panels documenting the semester-long design process.

The exhibition was opened by Tamás Ther (Department of Mechanics, Materials and Structures), one of the course instructors, who praised the students’ courage and creativity, emphasizing that the teams progressed from the first steps of design to fully realized installations within just four months. He highlighted that the semester project was realized through the collaboration of three departments, with Eszter Fehér (Department of Morphology and Geometric Modeling) and Péter Lassu (Department of Graphics, Form and Design) supporting and guiding the students’ work as instructors.

in the middle: Tamás Varga, Dean of ÉPK

The Project Course is the first comprehensive design assignment of the Form and Structure Specialization, in which students begin to familiarize themselves with the tools and mindset of parametric design from the very start of the semester. This year’s guiding concept was “Weave”. The design framework consisted of a cubic structure with an edge length of three meters assigned to each team, and the spaces between these cubic frames. Within this framework, students were tasked with creating structurally sound and formally expressive installations using bent wooden lamellas.

Each student group shaped one-eighth of the available space according to its own concept, and together these interventions formed a coherent sequence of spaces. 

As a whole, the installations can be interpreted not only as individual works, but also as a functioning exhibition space and circulation system.

The feasibility of the envisioned forms consistently influenced the initial concepts, requiring students to adapt to an ever-changing set of constraints. A key role in managing this complexity was played by the parametric design environment of Rhino3D and Grasshopper, through which students defined the main design parameters and the algorithms generating the spatial models. From these parameterized, momentarily fixed, and structurally sound models, the cutting patterns of the lamellas forming the installations could be precisely derived.

One of the greatest challenges of the semester was the design of connections between the wooden elements themselves and between the installations and the built environment, including floors and walls. These joint conditions clearly demonstrated what it means when a design leaves the drawing board and becomes a physically built, spatially experienced structure.

The exhibition could not have been realized without the cooperation and support of professional partners. The timber was generously provided free of charge by JAF Holz Magyarország Ltd., while Würth Szereléstechnika Ltd. supplied the fasteners necessary for the connections. Following the opening, visitors had the opportunity to study the posters presenting the design processes, and an informal professional discussion developed among the students, instructors, and company representatives.

The exhibition is currently on view on the 3rd floor of Building K, in room K3.22 of the Department of Graphics, Form and Design. It can be visited on Mondays between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., or by prior appointment.

Students: Gergely Tamás Borissza, Anna Cozmei, Bence Drotár , Zsófia Farnyik , Ágoston Györkös, Gábor Hellenpárt, Brigitta Hornok, Ágnes Juhász, Orsolya Keszy-Harmath, Luca Kata Kis, Viktória Krisztina Kliszek, Gréta Mátyus, Réka Mosolics, Péter Alex Nemes, Zaránd Nyári, Balázs Rátosi, Nikolett Rigelmann, Dorka Rubóczki, Csenge Somfalvi, Konrád Tamás Szabó, Péter Benedek Szabó, Zsófia Réka Toldik, Gergő Vágány, Csenge Weidinger.
Workshop instructor: Lajos Czeglédi

Rector's Office, Communications Directorate
Photography: László Szűcs