The world’s first glass Szilassi polyhedron was unveiled on March 26, 2026, in front of the József Attila Study and Information Center at the University of Szeged. The sculpture honors the groundbreaking mathematical discovery of Lajos Szilassi at his alma mater.
Szeged’s already imposing collection of public artworks has now been expanded with an especially distinctive piece. The glass Szilassi polyhedron commemorates the geometric form discovered by Dr. Lajos Szilassi in 1977. Alongside the tetrahedron, this remarkable geometric form remains the only known polyhedron in which every pair of faces shares a common edge.
Lajos Szilassi was affiliated with the University of Szeged for nearly four decades – first as a student, then as a faculty member. He studied mathematics and descriptive geometry between 1961 and 1966, and from 1972 to 2006, he was a leading figure in teacher education in Szeged. He retired as an associate professor and now holds the title of honorary college professor – a distinction that reflects not only his academic career but also his lasting impact as an educator. Over the years, he taught generations of students how to think, how to ask questions, and how to persevere, inspiring curiosity in all those around him.
A large crowd gathered in Szeged for the unveiling of the Szilassi polyhedron.
At the unveiling ceremony, Dr. Judit Fendler, Chancellor of the University of Szeged, emphasized that the Szilassi polyhedron is far more than a geometric curiosity: it is a striking symbol of the spirit of innovation that has shaped the University for decades.
“This is a story of perseverance – a reminder that even after repeated setbacks, we must not give up. It is also a story about the inherent limitations of technology on its own; technology becomes truly meaningful only when combined with human creativity. Back in the 1970s, when computers still filled entire rooms, Professor Szilassi had already recognized their potential. Indeed, this is more than an object – it is a message: knowledge, creativity, and perseverance are universal values,” the chancellor said at the event.
Professor Szilassi recalled that in the spring of 1976, while teaching mathematics teacher trainees at the Juhász Gyula Teacher Training Faculty of the University of Szeged (then known as the Teacher Training College), he was delivering a lecture on the relationship between the cube and the octahedron when, in a flash of insight, a question struck him: Could there exist a torus-like polyhedron in which every pair of faces is adjacent?
Just one year later, he had created a solid that fulfilled all these conditions – yet it still had no name.
“News of the discovery of the polyhedron quickly spread through the Bolyai Institute,” Professor Szilassi recalled. “Professor Béla Szőkefalvi-Nagy told me that Scientific American, the world-famous journal, had recently published an article on the Császár polyhedron. Encouraged by this, I decided to write to Martin Gardner, who at the time edited the magazine’s mathematics column, to tell him about my own results and this new polyhedron. Not long afterward, an article about my discovery appeared in the journal – perhaps not by chance under the title Minimal Art. It was Martin Gardner who gave my construction the name ‘Szilassi polyhedron.’ I never imagined that a scientific paper published in such a prestigious journal would set off such a remarkable chain of events.”
On March 26, 2026, the connection between science and art took on a tangible form in Szeged with the unveiling of the Szilassi polyhedron sculpture.
At the ceremony, Professor Dr. Péter Zakar, Vice-Rector for International Affairs and Public Relations at the University of Szeged, emphasized that preserving a sense of childlike curiosity is one of the true driving forces of discovery. In his remarks, he expressed the hope that the sculpture would inspire questions in all those who encounter it – because it is through questions that the path to knowledge, progress, and the creation of something new begins to unfold.
The creation and installation of the sculpture were initiated by the Szeged Regional Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. At the event, Lajos Szilassi expressed his gratitude to Professor Dr. Tibor Krisztin, President of the Committee, who first proposed the idea of a public Szilassi polyhedron in Szeged.
Now standing in front of SZTE’s József Attila Study and Information Center (JATIK), the sculpture was created by Dorka Borbás, a Ferenczy Prize-winning glass artist and recipient of the County Prima Award. The work is made of glass – a material that is both distinctive and delicate. One of its most striking features is its ability to glow in almost every color except white, giving the sculpture a powerful, ever-changing presence in the square even after dark.
Alongside the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the project also brought together the Szeged Regional Group of the Hungarian Academy of Arts; architect Péter Vesmás – an Ybl Prize laureate and full member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts; architect Tamás Szögi; and the team at the architectural firm Tér Forma Építész Stúdió Kft.
Lajos Szilassi expressed his gratitude to the leadership of the University of Szeged and the Municipality of Szeged for selecting such a fitting location for the sculpture and for granting the necessary permissions.
After dark, the sculpture’s shifting colors bring its distinctive form to life.
On the day of the unveiling, an exhibition opened at the headquarters of the Szeged Regional Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, showcasing stainless-steel models of polyhedra that are, in many respects, more the result of discovery than creation. There, just as in front of the JATIK building, visitors are invited to pause and reflect on what leaves a deeper impression: the harmony, beauty, and richness of these forms, or the fact that they embody mathematical relationships once unknown to the world. In both settings, the Szilassi polyhedron stands as a reminder that discovery can be at once rigorous, unexpected, and profoundly beautiful.
Original Hungarian article by Ferenc Lévai
Feature photo: Professor Dr. Péter Zakar, Dr. Lajos Szilassi, Dorka Borbás, Dr. Judit Fendler, Professor Dr. Tibor Krisztin, Péter Vesmás, and Tamás Szögi at the unveiling of the Szilassi polyhedron in front of the SZTE József Attila Study and Information Center on March 26, 2026. Photo: Dávid Miskolci
