Located a few steps away from the Hungarian Parliament, surrounded by ancient residential buildings, the project is a luxury metamorphosis of an abandoned tenement house from the 19th century. The basic challenge was to select and renovate the substantial elements that are closely linked to the spirituality of the original house and to add new parts, to provide a contemporary feel to facilitate the running of a state-of-the-art four stars hotel.

At the time of our assignment the building was in a sad state with its nineteen abandoned flats and its tower destroyed by a bomb in the Second World War. The protected facade of the exterior and the internal functionality required a complex and thorough re-work. The main questions were to identify what elements gave the visitor a sense of enormous power even in its ruinous condition and how the newly added parts could be contemporary and harmonious with their originals. The concept was that the existing values should be renewed in original condition, and the additions should be prepared with contemporary architectural solutions. On entering the central foyer there is an immediate sense of duality of the original vaulted ceiling, terrazzo floor and the newly formed reception area. This relation of old and new is present all along in the building and they harmonically complement each other. A double-height foyer forms the core of the hotel, lowering the original courtyard. This functional and spiritual center is covered by a curved glass roof, which supplies with daylight the basement where the dining room, conference and fitness facilities are located. The main amenities are connected here, providing interesting see-through opportunities in the main public spaces. As the original, but beautiful staircase was unsuitable for the hotel function, a new staircase and elevators were constructed. The old stairs were preserved up to the first floor where a library room was set up at a focal point to create a sense of direction. On the upper floors two new levels were projected in a completely up-to-date form to increase the total number of the rooms.

Phase: completed

Year: 2006

Gfa: 2 900 sqm

Prize: Budapest Architectural Award, 2006