Green Pyramid, Nyíregyháza Zoo (Zöld Piramis: Esőerdőház és Óceanárium)

Nyíregyháza Zoo began in 1974 as the Nyíregyházi Vadaspark, a wildlife park laid out at Sóstó. Today it covers 36.5 hectares and shows more than 630 species, some 5,000 animals, to over 650,000 visitors a year. A first Tropical House (Trópusi Ház), with a central aviary and a small pond, opened there in 2002.

The Green Pyramid was the next step. Designed in 2007-2008 by GAV-ART Stúdió under the architect Attila Gáva, assisted by István Kertész and Tamás Szikora, it was built in 2009-2010 by the contractor KE-VÍZ 21 for the zoo. In February 2009 the zoo described work going ahead at full speed despite a harsh winter on a building it considered extremely complex, and allowed at least three months to install plants and animals before opening. The budget came to 1.6 billion forints.

The building opened in 2010 and was presented as unique in Hungary and Central Europe. The park received a special architecture award in 2011 and international recognition in 2012; it was later named Europe's best zoo in its category in 2015, 2018 and 2022.

The Green Pyramid has a gross floor area of 5,710 m² according to the project sheet published by the journal Építészfórum, while the Hungarian Wikipedia gives 4,000 m²; both agree on three levels. The load-bearing steel structure was engineered by Zoltán Tóth (Steel-Soft). The dome covering, supplied by Vector Foiltec, is a transparent multilayer Texlon ETFE film held under air pressure and divided into trapezoidal and triangular units.

On the ground floor the central rainforest hall covers 780 m², together with the oceanarium entrance and a self-service restaurant. Suspended walkways on three levels cross this space up to canopy height and lead to the primate enclosures and to viewing terraces. On the underground level the Indian Ocean oceanarium is built around a 500,000-litre tank; a glazed corridor runs through it, and the large acrylic panels were supplied by the specialist firm Nippura.

The upper level, given over to the rainforest, shows Komodo dragons and orangutans alongside crocodiles and tropical birds. The primates have enclosures open to the great hall, which the walkways let visitors watch at treetop height. On the underground level the oceanarium recreates Indian Ocean wildlife: sharks, rays, sea turtles and corals share a 500,000-litre tank that the public follows through a glazed corridor. Plants and animals were installed during the few months before opening. Elsewhere in the park, the 2002 Tropical House keeps parrots, lemurs and reptiles and opens outdoors onto a Mediterranean garden.

The Green Pyramid stands inside Nyíregyháza Zoo in the Sóstó district. Allow at least an hour for the building alone and a full day for the whole 36.5-hectare park, which also includes the 2002 Tropical House, with its parrots and lemurs, and the adjoining Mediterranean garden. Being fully enclosed, the building suits a visit in bad weather or in winter, and the canopy walkways give the best views over the hall. With more than 630 species, the park draws over 650,000 visitors a year.