Facade of the Kossuth tér 6–8 Office Building
Budapest, District V, Kossuth tér 6-8.
2015, design competition, honourable mention
The office building at Kossuth tér 6–8 was built in 1972, to designs by Béla Pintér, on what had until then been the last undeveloped plot on Kossuth tér. In 1928 the Metropolitan Board of Public Works adopted a regulation plan for the development of the square. In it, the Board regulated the external appearance of the buildings by commissioning Dezső Hültl to design a complete facade, and prescribed that the buildings to be built on the separate plots of the southern side of the square would, regardless of their function or floor plan, be built with the designed facade. Hültl designed a unified neo-Renaissance facade for this stretch of the square, covering all four buildings to be constructed. The Board's intention with the regulation was that the sides of Kossuth tér (apart from the Parliament) should be realised in harmony with one another, architecturally reflecting on each other, and that both the northern and southern sides should each form a unified, generous facade image in themselves. When the existing building on the plot was designed, the Hültl regulation, by then no longer in force, was not taken into account. The building as built followed Hültl's plan neither in its facade design, nor in its number of floors, nor in its roofing. The architectural concept of our facade design is based on architecture that speaks the language of contemporary architecture while respecting the urban design principles embodied in the regulation of the time. Retaining the floors and structure of the existing building, we are designing a new facade corresponding to Hültl's facade, using the materials prescribed in Hültl's regulation (stone or artificial stone). The designed facade has several layers. The space-enclosing structure is triple-glazed thermal insulating glass, which fully covers the building's two street facades, except at the metro exits on the ground floor. This is the first facade membrane. The outer facade skin, which stands in front of the glass curtain wall and therefore dominates the appearance, consists of vertical stone fins. The profiling of the stone fins follows Hültl's facade, taking up its division, articulation, cornice system and window pattern. The resulting facade, in a durable and timeless material, evokes the originally designed facade of the period with a contemporary architectural approach, and fits organically with the facade of the neighbouring building and with the facades of the other sides of Kossuth tér. The facade emerges as a distinctive architecture that is rooted in the facade designed at the time and contemporary in spirit. This intellectual continuity, set in dialogue with time, gives the designed architecture its quality. We do not bring the facade of the time back one to one, nor do we want to design something similar, similarly “old”, in a fake, insincere way. We call on the facade of the period, abstract it, and bring the intention to life with contemporary means. The depth of the stone fins varies between 10 and 80 cm in accordance with the articulation and cornices of Hültl's facade design. The stone fins are carried by a secondary structure of steel spacer elements fixed to the reinforced concrete structure. At the windows of Hültl's facade, the stone fins thin out and step back, evoking the punched-opening architecture and the position of the originally designed windows. The existing building has one more floor than Hültl's facade, so it did not follow Hültl's regulation. The designed solution, however, detaches the reappearing, originally designed punched-opening facade, with its window pattern of the time, from the existing floor slab system. The glass membrane and the stone fin system are also favourable for the natural lighting of the interiors and for the views.
design by sagra
Facade of the Kossuth tér 6–8 Office Building
Budapest, District V, Kossuth tér 6-8.
2015, design competition, honourable mention
The office building at Kossuth tér 6–8 was built in 1972, to designs by Béla Pintér, on what had until then been the last undeveloped plot on Kossuth tér. In 1928 the Metropolitan Board of Public Works adopted a regulation plan for the development of the square. In it, the Board regulated the external appearance of the buildings by commissioning Dezső Hültl to design a complete facade, and prescribed that the buildings to be built on the separate plots of the southern side of the square would, regardless of their function or floor plan, be built with the designed facade. Hültl designed a unified neo-Renaissance facade for this stretch of the square, covering all four buildings to be constructed. The Board's intention with the regulation was that the sides of Kossuth tér (apart from the Parliament) should be realised in harmony with one another, architecturally reflecting on each other, and that both the northern and southern sides should each form a unified, generous facade image in themselves. When the existing building on the plot was designed, the Hültl regulation, by then no longer in force, was not taken into account. The building as built followed Hültl's plan neither in its facade design, nor in its number of floors, nor in its roofing. The architectural concept of our facade design is based on architecture that speaks the language of contemporary architecture while respecting the urban design principles embodied in the regulation of the time. Retaining the floors and structure of the existing building, we are designing a new facade corresponding to Hültl's facade, using the materials prescribed in Hültl's regulation (stone or artificial stone). The designed facade has several layers. The space-enclosing structure is triple-glazed thermal insulating glass, which fully covers the building's two street facades, except at the metro exits on the ground floor. This is the first facade membrane. The outer facade skin, which stands in front of the glass curtain wall and therefore dominates the appearance, consists of vertical stone fins. The profiling of the stone fins follows Hültl's facade, taking up its division, articulation, cornice system and window pattern. The resulting facade, in a durable and timeless material, evokes the originally designed facade of the period with a contemporary architectural approach, and fits organically with the facade of the neighbouring building and with the facades of the other sides of Kossuth tér. The facade emerges as a distinctive architecture that is rooted in the facade designed at the time and contemporary in spirit. This intellectual continuity, set in dialogue with time, gives the designed architecture its quality. We do not bring the facade of the time back one to one, nor do we want to design something similar, similarly “old”, in a fake, insincere way. We call on the facade of the period, abstract it, and bring the intention to life with contemporary means. The depth of the stone fins varies between 10 and 80 cm in accordance with the articulation and cornices of Hültl's facade design. The stone fins are carried by a secondary structure of steel spacer elements fixed to the reinforced concrete structure. At the windows of Hültl's facade, the stone fins thin out and step back, evoking the punched-opening architecture and the position of the originally designed windows. The existing building has one more floor than Hültl's facade, so it did not follow Hültl's regulation. The designed solution, however, detaches the reappearing, originally designed punched-opening facade, with its window pattern of the time, from the existing floor slab system. The glass membrane and the stone fin system are also favourable for the natural lighting of the interiors and for the views.
design by sagra
Facade of the Kossuth tér 6–8 Office Building
Budapest, District V, Kossuth tér 6-8.
2015, design competition, honourable mention
The office building at Kossuth tér 6–8 was built in 1972, to designs by Béla Pintér, on what had until then been the last undeveloped plot on Kossuth tér. In 1928 the Metropolitan Board of Public Works adopted a regulation plan for the development of the square. In it, the Board regulated the external appearance of the buildings by commissioning Dezső Hültl to design a complete facade, and prescribed that the buildings to be built on the separate plots of the southern side of the square would, regardless of their function or floor plan, be built with the designed facade. Hültl designed a unified neo-Renaissance facade for this stretch of the square, covering all four buildings to be constructed. The Board's intention with the regulation was that the sides of Kossuth tér (apart from the Parliament) should be realised in harmony with one another, architecturally reflecting on each other, and that both the northern and southern sides should each form a unified, generous facade image in themselves. When the existing building on the plot was designed, the Hültl regulation, by then no longer in force, was not taken into account. The building as built followed Hültl's plan neither in its facade design, nor in its number of floors, nor in its roofing. The architectural concept of our facade design is based on architecture that speaks the language of contemporary architecture while respecting the urban design principles embodied in the regulation of the time. Retaining the floors and structure of the existing building, we are designing a new facade corresponding to Hültl's facade, using the materials prescribed in Hültl's regulation (stone or artificial stone). The designed facade has several layers. The space-enclosing structure is triple-glazed thermal insulating glass, which fully covers the building's two street facades, except at the metro exits on the ground floor. This is the first facade membrane. The outer facade skin, which stands in front of the glass curtain wall and therefore dominates the appearance, consists of vertical stone fins. The profiling of the stone fins follows Hültl's facade, taking up its division, articulation, cornice system and window pattern. The resulting facade, in a durable and timeless material, evokes the originally designed facade of the period with a contemporary architectural approach, and fits organically with the facade of the neighbouring building and with the facades of the other sides of Kossuth tér. The facade emerges as a distinctive architecture that is rooted in the facade designed at the time and contemporary in spirit. This intellectual continuity, set in dialogue with time, gives the designed architecture its quality. We do not bring the facade of the time back one to one, nor do we want to design something similar, similarly “old”, in a fake, insincere way. We call on the facade of the period, abstract it, and bring the intention to life with contemporary means. The depth of the stone fins varies between 10 and 80 cm in accordance with the articulation and cornices of Hültl's facade design. The stone fins are carried by a secondary structure of steel spacer elements fixed to the reinforced concrete structure. At the windows of Hültl's facade, the stone fins thin out and step back, evoking the punched-opening architecture and the position of the originally designed windows. The existing building has one more floor than Hültl's facade, so it did not follow Hültl's regulation. The designed solution, however, detaches the reappearing, originally designed punched-opening facade, with its window pattern of the time, from the existing floor slab system. The glass membrane and the stone fin system are also favourable for the natural lighting of the interiors and for the views.
design by sagra
