BUDAPEST, ADRIA PALACE
2019
The design concept of the
Adria Palace is a complete, comprehensive building renovation and restoration,
complemented by new architectural elements, three new elevators (two indoor and
one outdoor), the restoration of the original roof and creating a habitable
attic. These new elements have the same material usage, typically a light metal
and glass structure, so they are characteristically separated from the
historical building, but at the same time they create a composition with it.
The mass of the roof was completely changed during the post-war damage
restoration. Presumably, the original wooden structure was used to rebuild a
simpler form. Making the attic habitable according to the Investor's intention
can only be solved by transforming this roof mass and rethink the
structure.
In the direction of the inner
courtyard we want to make the attic more usable by raising the eaves. This
inner change is not visible on the street fronts. In the direction of the
street, the height of the ridges remains intact. An exception to this is the
restoration of the mansard tower in the middle of the composition. On the
symmetry axis of the Szabadság square (where the building was built) Artúr
Meining at the beginning of the 1900’s envisioned a symmetrical composition. The
other side of the square there is a similar building, which still has the
original mansard tower, as Adria Palace once had. The missing, damaged roof of
the palace shows no longer this elegant and generous solution from an important
cityscape point of view. Restoring this roof is one of the most important ideas
in our architectural concept. We have little information about the original
shape of the tower. We can only rely on a not very detailed section and one
good resolution photo. We would also like to look out of the apartments in
the attic part of the mansard and in the tower space. We want to use a special
structure for this. This is a composite glass structure, with an inner expanded
mesh layer. The roof thus retains its metallic luster from the outside, and its
color scheme adapts to the metal roof. The facade material use of the attic,
which appears as a new level on the inner courtyard façade, differs from the
rest of the building, thus separating the historical and new construction
periods. The system of hanging corridors continues on the new level as well,
with the difference that instead of small-angle fractures, its line is
delicately curved. The material of the facade is mosaic ceramic and
metal.
The new additions to the inner
courtyard have been “added” to the composition the mass in a way as the
original glass orangeries of the historic building were. In the inner
courtyard, three new masses of glass, similar but different in glazing, are
placed next to Artúr Meining's curved, half and first-floor glass orangerie.
The elevator, and the two closed terraces. Above the hanging corridor, a
circular glass roof protects the residents from rain. The “extension” of this
glass roof is also the roof of the new orangeries.
The protected monumental
interiors are all to be restored, the missing wall covering and ceiling
elements (wood, painting, marble, limestone, gypsum) can be replaced based on
the individual restoration descriptions. Floors are replaced with new wooden
floors everywhere, except in the protected floor spaces (decorative staircase,
marble floors, marble terazzo floors, main staircase terrace, hanging corridor
walltiles). We will illuminate the spaces with indirect hidden lights and
modern chandeliers and floor lamps, so that the elegance and value of the space
is less violated.
Péter Kis, Anikó Tóth,
Brigitta Sinkovics, Lilla Starkbauer, Gábor Rantal, Bianca Bíró, Szilárd
Suba-Faluvégi, Ilka Demény
Visualization by: Lovas Lars
