matúz melinda: mtv Archives

This is the final project of my university studies. The project is the refurbishment and extension of a national heritage listed 19th century residential block in Budapest, Hungary. In the design the building was going through a functional change and found a place for the Archives of the Hungarian National Television.

before refurbishment I after refurbishment

The focus of the design was to find a decent solution or design approach for heritage reconstructions in a contemporary way in which the architectural values of the protected building are well respected while the building goes through functional change and the new architectural elements enhance the original design and find answers for the unsolved urban and functional questions of the site. The task has been very complex; finding solutions for the problems of the functional change, the heritage and urban issues was very difficult.

courtyard

The building is an average example of the eclectic residential architecture in downtown Budapest. It is arranged by a closed courtyard with neoclassical facades while the street facades are the rear examples of early Hungarian art nouveau.

section 1

The functional layout of the building had been changed according to the new functions. The representative spaces of the house became the public used areas of the Archives and the Research Centre, a café has been placed on the ground floor, connected to the Szabadság Square; the restaurateurs workshops are at the wings facing to the courtyard, a projection room had been built under the courtyard. The Storage Rooms of the Archives has been placed in a completely new block inserted in the existing volume. The new block grows out of the building but steps back from the street. It is only visible from the distance and from there it tries to balance the visual difference between the neighbouring buildings and the Archives.