Harghita Business Center is a business incubator built by Harghita County Council in Odorheiu Secuiesc, with a clear purpose: to host and support small local businesses, offering them affordable office space, in a public building conceived as a tool for regional economic development. The building, G+2F, was raised on land brought back into use after the demolition of the existing structures and decontamination.

Challenges

The land had hosted a depot of phytosanitary products, and the soil and existing structures were contaminated. The project involved demolishing the buildings and decontaminating the site before construction. Functionally, an incubator building must stay flexible: the office spaces are meant for businesses at different stages, so they were conceived for several partitioning options. And as a public object meant to stimulate the local economy, the building needed an identity of its own, tied to place.

Solutions

The facades are clad with heat-treated timber slats, mounted horizontally — a choice that ties the building to the county’s defining resource and economy: forestry and timber processing. The south facade, set back from the building plane and fully glazed across the three levels, marks the main access. The simple volume is animated by two covered paved courtyards, cut across the full height on the eastern side, bringing in light and rhythm. Inside, the floors house lettable offices and common spaces — meeting rooms — partitionable to each tenant’s needs.

Result

For Harghita County Council, an incubator that concretely supports small local businesses, on land recovered and brought back into use. For PPAE, a public project with an economic-development stake, where the choice of facade material anchored the building in the identity of the place.

Are you preparing a public building or a local economic-development project? The PPAE team can support your project from concept to completion. Contact us