City Hall Budapest

  • Design: 2009
  • Realisation: 2013
  • Client: Municipality of Budapest
  • Gross Floor Area: 118,000m2
City Hall Budapest

Erick van Egeraats’ design for the new City Hall complex for Budapest Combines restoration of the existing, but never completed 18th century baroque building with new, futuristic wings to create a contemporary Forum. It integrates the site into the existing 19th century city fabric by mirroring the mixture of functions that characterizes urban planning of that time. Once completed, the City Hall complex will act as a micro-city, offering virtually every city function and revitalizing the entire area.The Cultural Forum is strategically located in the centre of the complex and will offer a broad program. It incorporates a multifunctional area which can host conferences, exhibitions, concerts and theatre performances. Retail, cafés, restaurants and a boutique hotel are included in the project, integrating it into the surrounding existing facilities and stimulating traffic through the Forum where pedestrian flow from the boulevard to the river Danube will be re-opened. Easy access is granted through a direct connection with the metro station, where the old city walls are excavated and on display. At ground floor level, the complex will be entirely accessible to the public with four open courtyards recalling the layout of the complex as it was originally intended. The Forum Square represents the main gate from Karoly Korut into the City Hall and Forum. It features a glass tower on top of the entrance gate offering access to the City Balcony and a spectacular 360° view of the city. The historic and contemporary baroque of the existing building and new extension complement and emphasize each other, connecting the past and the future and ensuring the relationship with the surrounding townscape.Though it has strong ties to the history of the site, the design clearly looks to the future as well by offering sustainable qualities and solutions. The central location of the Forum on top of the metro line and the large scale integration of functions result in minimal need for additional transport, relieving the cities road system and limiting carbon emission. But more importantly, only a small part of the complex will be newly built, meaning that the existing monument will largely be conserved, renovated and recycled, considerably prolonging its lifespan. The great challenge of this unique project lies in realizing it with maximum eye for sustainability and creating a timeless value that will carry the city of Budapest into the future.

PDF

public Projects: