Developer Wing has begun construction of the first 'green' shopping centre in Hungary . Noah Steinberg, chairman & CEO of WING, and Zoltan Pokorni, mayor of the Hegyvidék district, laid the foundation stone for the centre during a ceremony on 2 June.

Located in Budapest's XII district, Hegyvidék Centre is the first sustainable shopping centre in Hungary and will be topped with an almost 1,000 m2 active green roof. Rainwater will be recycled for the irrigation of plants and for use in hand-wash basins and toilet cisterns. Much of the building's hot water will be provided using solar collectors. A bicycle storage facility will serve to promote environmentally friendly transport. Environmentally friendly technological systems are being used during construction with the aim of achieving a 'very good' rating under the BREEAM environmental accreditation scheme.

Hegyvidék Centre is expected to open in autumn 2012.