MOL Plan to Build New HQ
MOL Group announced its plans to relocate its corporate headquarters by 2021 to MOL Campus, the company’s new 83,000 sqm office, which will be designed by one of the most renowned architectural studios in the world, the UK-based Foster + Partners.
The 120-meter high building, which will be the future workspace for up to 2500 employees, will be located on the banks of the Danube in the southern part of Budapest, close to the current HQ building.
The modern design mirrors MOL Group’s bold vision of its 2030 strategy to drive changes across CEE over the few next decades and will also play an essential role in redesigning employee experience.
Meeting the ambitious targets of the new long-term strategy, MOL 2030, requires smart investments in both physical infrastructure and human capital. Currently MOL headquarters is scattered throughout five districts in Budapest, in buildings mostly constructed during the 1970s.
The new campus will not only generate substantial operational synergies through the relocation of all Budapest staff, but will also play an essential role in redesigning the employee experience, enhancing collaboration and helping to create a superior physical, technological and cultural environment. This will be crucial in attracting and retaining a high quality, mobile and tech savvy workforce in the future.
The 83,000 sqm office building will integrate a 120-meter high tower with a podium to create a unified campus, anticipated to open by 2021. The new headquarters will provide an inspiring workspace for MOL’s employees with modern amenities, which embrace the latest architectural trends and cutting-edge technology.
Foster + Partners is known for iconic projects such as Apple Park in Cupertino, the “Gherkin” tower in London and Commerzbank headquarters in Frankfurt. Budapest will be the second city in Central and Eastern Europe to host a building designed by this prestigious studio, next to the Warsaw’s Metropolitan Office and Varso Tower, currently under construction. The Hungarian partner of the UK-based architectural studio will be FintaStudio.
In line with MOL’s vision for 2030, the new campus will feature the highest standards of energy efficiency and sustainability and aims to obtain both LEED and BREEAM qualifications.
Zsolt Hernádi, Chairman-CEO, MOL Group commented: "As part of our 2030 strategy announced last year we have set the goal for MOL to be the first choice for employees. Building our new headquarters, the MOL Campus, will help to achieve this objective. The structure will be Central-Europe’s most innovative workspace and will help attract talent of the future. MOL intends to build a headquarters without compromising on design, construction, technology or sustainability.
Working with the best professionals and the highest quality materials, it will be a pleasure to see this world-leading construction come to fruition. I am confident that MOL Campus, which we create together with Foster + Partners and FintaStudio, is a perfect representation of our ambition to make MOL Group one of the most progressive companies of the region.”
Nigel Dancey, Senior Executive Partner at Foster + Partners commented: “This is a landmark project for several reasons, not only for MOL but also for Budapest. It presents a unique challenge – to ensure that the building meets the functional needs of the organisation, follows the highest standards of sustainability, and is respectful of its historic surroundings.
As we see the nature of the workplace changing to a more collaborative vision, we have combined two buildings – a tower and a podium – into a singular form, bound by nature. As the tower and the podium start to become one element, there is a sense of connectivity throughout the office spaces, with garden spaces linking each of the floors together.”
