The Piarists settled in Vác in 1714, and since then they have been building and extending school step by step to solve the issue of school's lack of space and modernisation. The complex includes a gymnasium, a convent, a baroque church and a modern gymnasium, where the buildings have grown side by side. Over the past decades, the assets have sadly fallen into disrepair, and unconceived improvements have not helped either.

Our assignment started with a permit for an EU-funded accessibility tender, where we defined the conceptual renovation of the whole ensemble and proposed specific interventions on priority points. The accessibility and the school's objectives were aligned. The school, already with few and outdated toilets and in some places an untraceable transport system, found a solution to its problems. New and more toilet blocks, accessible toilets, two new elevators, a new staircase, a modern renovated historic assembly hall and its service areas, classrooms and an art room, paving in the schoolyard and a car park were built. The existing assets were preserved to the maximum extent possible, while the new elements were designed to be of the highest quality materials and aesthetics available. Our concept was that the renewal at these key points would have impact on the surrounding area and that future renovations would link these key sites to them and renew the whole ensemble altogether.