The New Exhibition Building of the Hungarian Natural History Museum

Debreceni Infrastruktúra Fejlesztő Kft. (Debrecen Infrastructure Development Ltd., hereinafter referred to as the "Contracting Authority") announces a call for an international architectural design competition (hereinafter referred to as the "Design Competition") titled "The New Exhibition Building of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Debrecen". The aim of the competition is to design a building for the museum aligned with the functions already located on site.

The Contracting Authority expects the submission of works to the Design Competition meeting the following criteria:
- realizing a facility that will present natural science content in a forward-looking form; be able to attract visitors from home and abroad to Debrecen; be linked to the Culture Park (zoo and amusement park) and to other functions already located in the Great Forest (Nagyerdei Stadium, Sziget-Blue Theme Park, Sports Centre, Békás Pond, Aquaticum);
- functioning as a community space where families and people who want to learn and have fun, as well as representatives of the scientific and museum professions can meet, and connecting to its surroundings and serving as an open space on an everyday basis for those living in the area;
- applying unique, revolutionary architectural solutions, serving as a defining cultural and scientific community institution in Central Europe, being one the most modern, innovative and environmentally aware buildings in Europe, providing a venue for world-class exhibitions, a place satisfying the requirements of the present and the future and a venue setting museum-going trends.

A priority will be to exploit the potential of the proximity of the Cultural Park, designing the immediate surroundings of the building to create a high-quality natural and built environment in a sustainable way.

The Hungarian Natural History Museum is a renowned base for scientific research, both in Hungary and internationally, and one of the most popular museums among visitors. The mission of the museum is to provide usable knowledge and understanding of nature, the processes taking place in our environment, nature, humans and the world made by them.

With a gross floor space of approximately 22,900 m2, the main function of the Exhibition Building will be to house approximately 7,200 m2 of exhibition space, 5,800 m2 of public circulation space, reception and circulation areas, 2,800 m2 of office space for museum management and researchers, 2,500 m2 of technical, operational and mechanical space, 4,600 m2 of parking and 14,000 m2 of internal garden and outdoor space.


The form and nature of the Design Competition:

An invitational international design competition reaching the EU threshold, for the preparation of architectural design documentation for the new exhibition building of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Debrecen, which invites submissions from both Hungarian and international architects.
As a result of the Design Competition, the Contracting Authority wishes to conclude a design contract with the 1st prize-winning designer, as a result of a negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice, in accordance with Article Section 98 (5) of the Public Procurement Act, for the preparation of design documentation for the design of the new exhibition building of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Debrecen.

The nature of the Design Competition: open during the pre-qualification phase and restricted during the invitational phase for the submission of entries.
In the first phase of the procedure, the Contracting Authority assesses whether the applicants are suitable to fulfill the contract and selects those who are qualified, up to a certain number, to be invited to submit a design proposal.
The number of tenderers invited to the Competition Phase of the present Design Competition is 14, of which 10 are directly invited.
If the directly invited tenderers submit an invalid pre-qualification application or fail to submit a pre-qualification application, eligible tenderers will be invited up to the predetermined limit number of tenderers.

Awards of the Design Competition
Highest prize: EUR 60 000
Minimum amount of purchase price: EUR 5 000
Expense reimbursement: EUR 15 000 / Tenderer
Total prize budget: EUR 330 000