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EFAPEFAP

Coach tour to recent developments within the Budapest metropolitan area 7 May 2011 Saturday, 10.00 –14.00

Route I. Route II.Március 15. tér Március 15. tér

Megyeri híd (Pesti hídfő) Gázgyári lakótelep

Gázgyári lakótelep (1031 Sújtás u. 5.) Graphisoft park

Graphisoft park (1031 Záhony u. 7.) Megyeri híd

Millennáris (1023 Kisrókus u. 33.) Müpa

Kopaszi Gát (1117 Andalgó u. 5.) Kopaszi Gát

Müpa (1095 Komor Marcell utca 1.) Millennáris

Március 15. tér Március 15. tér

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Meeting time: 9.45

Meeting point : Budapest 5th distr. Március 15. tér, coach parking lot

Guides: Pál Csanády Architect Zorán Vukoszávlyev Architect

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Megyeri Bridge, Northern M0 highway Danube BridgeClient: Nemzeti Autópálya KezelőDesigners: Mátyás Hunyadi and Sándor Kisbán (structure), László Benczúr (architecture)Built: 2006-2008Constructor: Hídépítő Zrt. and Strabag Építő Zrt.

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In order to by-pass the road transportation and great transit-traffic of Budapest many efforts

have been made for decades and succeeded with the handover procedure of the Northern M0

Danube Bridge in 2008. Unfortunately, due to the sometimes contradictory concepts and needs

of some involved municipalities, the highway ring could have not been closed yet, thus there is no

connection between the largest approach arriving from west and the northern approach, which is

the most important one from the capital’s point of view. Nevertheless, the highway forming a three-

quarter circle relieves the capital from very heavy transit traffic anyway. Still have to wait for the

agreements but the development, which is important from regional aspects too, is accompanied

by continuous area extension on the outskirts of the city.

The bridge was built in state investment, its design process started in 1993 but the construction

works only started at the beginning of 2006 and were realized in 2,5 years. With the new highway

bridge not only the transportation of the capital was improved but also a chance was given for the

regional development of the Danube bend located north to Budapest.

Actually, the bridge is a complex of 5 bridges (9 bridge structures) spanning 1870 m, the most famous of which is the 591

m long part spanning the Great-Danube-arm; and this is the first real slant-drawn cable bridge of the country. The ascent

bridges at the floodplains and the bridge part above the island are made of pre-stressed reinforced concrete while the

structure of the bridge above the small river arm consists of steel beams. The spectacular hung steel structure with slant-

drawn cables above the great river arm is supported by two 100 m high, A-shaped pylons. They are made of monolith

reinforced concrete constructed with the use of climbing formwork. The road structure is connected to the pylons with 96

cables.

The bridge is 35 m wide, there are two lanes in both directions and their shoulders are wider so they can be adjusted to traffic

lanes later. A pedestrian road was built on the southern side of the bridge while a bicycle road was placed to the northern

side directly connected to the international EuroVelo6 bicycle road. For environmental protection considerations, there is no

access from the bridge to Szentendrei-sziget (Szentendre Island): the surrounding area is the main water basis of Budapest,

and the special plant species are also protected in this way.

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2 Gasworks, residential district for officers and workersClient: Budapest, capitalArchitects: Albert Weiss, Kálmán Reichl, Lóránt Almási BaloghBuilt: 1910-1913

From the 1850-ies, Pest, Buda and Óbuda went through a dynamic development and were enriched

with several infrastructural establishments – also the launch of gas public lighting represented the

period’s state of development. For supporting this utility, within a short time more than one coal

based gasworks were erected in the area of the later capital. Their some decade long concession

contracts were bought off by the city council in 1910: the Óbuda area, which place had connections

to the Danube and to the railways as well, was assigned for the settlement of the large central

gasworks. Beside the construction of the factory’s typical elements – the buildings of which have

favorably remained so far –, south to the industrial zone the residential district of officers and west

to it that of the workers were established at the same time.

The nine buildings of the management were arranged in a free standing villa-like system with park,

located between the Danube and the railway. The building complex gives place to 17 apartments

in different size and groups according to the ranks of the managers. Next to the director’s villa

placed in the center, there are houses with two apartments containing 3-4 rooms each, and then

come the semi-detached houses. The district of workers is located in the vicinity of the factories

and forms a symmetric composition of larger, united building blocks.

In the arrangement of the Gasworks buildings the primer considerations were the water and railway connections – thus the

settlement, which is today ranked among the considerably nice solutions, was only determined by the industrial requirements.

However, in our days this is the most important value of this area. The remained factory halls and the impressive brick-

architecture of the characteristic towers meant the basis for the developments of Graphisoft Park, which now occupies

nearly the whole area of the former gasworks. While the factory was typical of its industrial aesthetics, the residential houses

were built with the traditional/vernacular forms and materials of the turn of the millennium. Brick can be found here too but

larger surfaces are covered with stone and plaster, and the appearance of timber cladding is dominant as well.

The mass-composition of the officers’ district is richer in using canopies, gables, cylindrical surfaces – while the workers’

district is excellent for its grandiose composition that consists of a public park concentrated in the middle and private

gardens behind the buildings. For the employees working in hard physical conditions, such living conditions were provided

which were outstanding in that period; and a school was placed in the center of the building complex. There were post

office, restaurant, grocery and baker in the district, and beside the mainly two-roomed flats hostel, casino and bath house

were also built.

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Graphisoft Informatikai ParkClient: Graphisoft Park Ingatlan Zrt.General design: Ferenc Cságoly and Ferenc Keller Landscape design: György SzlojszárArchitects: Ferenc Cságoly (central Building G, 1998), Ferenc Keller (Building A and B, 1998), Ádám Sylvester (Building C, 2000; Building N, 2001), István Lukács and András Vikár (Building L, 2000; Building F, 2001; Building M, 2007), Zoltán Horváth (Building K, 1999; Building D, 2005; restaurant, 2005; Building H, 2009), László Szász (Building S, 2006)Built: 1998-2009Constructor: altering

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Graphisoft Park lies in the northern part of Budapest, along the bank of Danube. In the ancient

heart of Óbuda, a settlement which had been independent before the union of the capital in 1872,

and in the close vicinity of the ruins of Aquincum once lived by Romans, the area of the former

Gasworks was rehabilitated on the initiative of the Archicad innovation group. After the demolition

of several industrial buildings and the revitalizing soil-change of the complete area, the place was

continuously rehabilitated within a concept of a complex investment. The main idea was based on

the park composition following the pattern of villa buildings. The scale of the buildings, the unified

use of materials and the intensive landscaping of the park creates outstanding working conditions

for the companies dealing with informatics and bio-technological innovation.

The rational scheduling of the development was reasonable because once the area had been

isolated – however, due to the improving accessibility of the site and the dynamically growing

tenant-structure the volumes of the recent constructions are larger and larger compared to the

original concept. Thus the investors tried to compensate the overbuilding of the area with the

integrations of the neighboring plots

In the basic concept of the park the composition was made of smaller blocks, where the buildings were either placed in a

stripe along the bank of the Danube or by the main road; and in this way there was enough place for a large central landart-

park. The possibility of passing through the area was provided by continuing the bicycle and pedestrian road along the bank

– with its extension the far located holiday zone would be accessible as well. The architecture of the office buildings, which

are placed between the characteristic industrial monuments of the former gasworks and the houses of the former officers’

district, is adjusted to the historic premises: the use of brick is given by the rough surface of the towers and the scale is

defined by the dimensions of the semi-detached houses.

The architects give the lyrical transcription of the above mentioned elements in a modern manner: like the composition of

solid brick wall planes and steel-glass surfaces, atrium court surrounded by characteristic, closed building blocks or the

park-segments being stretched between the houses. The spatial game of two dimensional patterns and surfaces – going

far beyond the restriction of the use of material (e.g. beside the red colored brick the architects started to use darker

alternatives as well as stone, concrete and wood too); and today every architect builds his own composition in view of the

required functions and the place occupied on the (denser and denser) site.

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MillenárisClient: Kisrókus Kft.Architectural design: József Wéber (Building B and C), László Benczúr (Building D and E), Ákos Takács (Building G)Landscape design: Új irány csoportBuilt: 1999-2001Constructor: altering

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North to the castle hill of Buda, in its close vicinity was a small iron foundry founded by Ábrahám

Ganz in 1844. Soon the factory grew to a Europe-wide known machine firm. Due to the urban

position of the site, its value relevantly grew by the turn of the millennium. The industrial estate,

which remained as an inclusion between the residential buildings, was rehabilitated in a successful

way: based on the conception creating process that started in the spring of 1999, the area got

a cultural function. It was revitalized as the central place of the millennium programs. After

eliminating the environmental pollution, the preserved and renovated buildings were utilized with

cultural function and their surroundings were turned into a high-standard public park for the use

of the citizens.

The buildings located on the outer side of the site-complex were kept or partly dismantled thus the

borders of the original arrangement remained the same – but in the inner areas huge halls and

multistory high buildings were demolished. The cleared central zone was developed as a public

park among the industrial halls made over with cultural functions, which place serves as an urban

square and additional scene for the different events as well. Within the dense urban texture a small

green island was born by this intervention, which significantly improved the residential conditions of

the neighborhood – though several parts of the former factory halls stand unutilized even today.

The Departure Building remained in the most original form is now the service point of the different programs and professional

events. Next to it, to the former erecting shop a theatre was placed. A center-aula was built between the mainly preserved

monumental hall and a smaller building part: the thematic exhibitions and the innovative programs are organized here. The

larger block of management hides office functions today while the new building wings appear as fancy elements in the urban

texture that has become rather intense by today.

The park is thematically organized. The place serving the needs of the neighboring residents as well as that of the visitors is

a leisure park, active exhibition space and place for several programs. It is a playground, a meeting place of teenagers and a

worthy departure space for cocktail receptions at the same times. Well defined walking surfaces, lowered spectator zones and

green areas providing active leisure are placed in a good proportion between the frames of renovated industrial buildings.

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Palace of Arts (Művészetek Palotája)Client: Graphisoft Park Ingatlan Zrt.Architect: Zoboki Gábor Built: 2002-2005Constructor: Trigránit

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On both sides of the Danube the zones between the two southern vehicular bridges of Budapest

were in the particular interest of the investments at the turn of the millennium. The once waterside

area of the Pest side has been an abandoned industrial site. This zone is bordered by roads with

heavy traffic and by the railway, and to its part, which is closer to the downtown, residential blocks

were built, in the middle part offices were erected while in the southern area the Palace of Arts

excels much higher than the surroundings. Turning its back on the traffic of the Danube Bridge,

the building complex faces to the downtown Danube panorama with its huge glass surface. The

multistory lobby unites three functions with its imposing space.

The arrangement of the ‘cultural container’ is like a formula: the smaller festival theatre (452 seats)

and the concert hall with a fantastic space (1563 + 190 seats) rise with their volume too, while the

contemporary art museum placed on the Danube side gives a block-like ending to the building with

its exhibition and event rooms.

The building was implemented (and it is run) in a PPP construction. Its high standard realization was possible only with

the liberal approach to the costs. The originally planned costs were significantly over-exceeded during the construction:

the building can be characterized by the rich use of materials, large spaces, perfect acoustics and elegant furniture.

The different units can be separately operated – at the same time they make up a cultural street together. This strategic

decision is a good counterbalance of the hiatus of the building’s location: its access with public transportation is very

peripheral to this very day and its close environment is rather unsettled.

With the realization of the Congress Center the vehicular access will be improved but the problems of the location will

not be solved. There is only one good influence coming from the concentration of this cultural district: the extraordinary

Danube side site is attractive beyond doubt; and together with the other buildings, the complex enhances the long-run

development of this district of southern Pest. The disadvantages are compensated with the high rate of state financing of

the operational costs, while the complex range of programs generate more intense attendance in all three art institutes.

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Kopaszi gát (Kopaszi dam)Client: Öböl XI. Kft. Architects: Gábor Turányi, Bence Turányi, Tamás MóroczLandscape design: István StefflerConstruction: 2005-2007Constructor: Budahold Kft.

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The Buda area south to Gellért Hill once had been the floodplain of the Danube and its bank up

started only at the end of the 19th century – the continuously expanding campus of the Technical

University was placed to its northern part, while 100 years later university developments and

an Informatics Park were built to the zone between the two bridges. However, the site under

the last Danube bridge of Budapest remained an industrial zone and a prolific floodplain forest.

Involving foreign investors, the municipality of the district dreamt on establishing a sport center

as well as a new office and residential zone next to the thermal power station. Within this project,

the new owner has created a public park which enables intensive activities. Civilized conditions

were provided for water sports that were re-settled to the bay, running and bicycle tracks were

implemented too.

The arrangement of the park turns definitely towards the water and calculates with more than

one meter water level changes. A riverside promenade (for events with 3000 people), open-air

stage (with a 1000 people grandstand), a wide path running along the promontory and a free lined

zigzagged promenade are in intensive communication with this special natural environment. Here

one can feel the pulsation of the city but at the same time can spend relaxed hours of leisure time

in one of the 14 small pavilions.

The simultaneously loose and intense arrangement of the park cannot be proven yet – since the area it is hidden from

the main public transportation lines and it can be accessed nearly only by car or bicycle. This place will become vivid

when the neighboring huge area gets under development and starts to be utilized. Today this place presents a park of

very high standards, focusing on the presence of the Danube, where the green area is often interrupted with different

buildings. The scale of the pavilion-like arrangement is nicely adjusted to the character of the location; the differing sizes

of the tenant units ensure a flexible utilization. The playful appearance of the blocks manifests a trendy communicational

strategy within a recreation park.

The landscape design decisions were based on a grandiose concept linking both sides of the bay. Forming some

thematic parts, the walking zones are changing and crossing each other from the dynamic use of space to the calmer,

more intimate places. This can be the reason for the popularity of the place too – despite only two pavilions are operating

the attendance of the park is very large. The secret of the park is the closeness of the site to the downtown and the direct

feeling of the Danube’s power and nobleness.