Architect: TIMA Zoltán
The new building of the office zone on Váci Road consists of several blocks of different size and distinct facades. The two-storey high ground floor public areas exude low-key elegance and facilitate pedestrian through traffic in a north to south direction, the flexible office areas have favourable natural lighting.
The suburbs and rust belts have been functionally reevaluated for the past 5 to 10 years, the former industrial areas have been replaced by office and commercial districts. This is what has happened along Váci Road, the main thoroughfare leading out of Budapest to the north. The new functions accommodated here (department stores and office buildings) are quiet, nevertheless the residential function has almost completely been displaced due to the increased vehicle traffic. This qualitative and quantitative change was recognized by the urban development regulation, passed in 2005. The former residential areas have been reclassified as zones for institutions. Commercial establishments with large floor-space have been built on the sites of abandoned factories. The layout of the office building is adjusted to the development of the urban road network expected in the near future and to the road connections of the proposed northern Danube bridge. The layout possibilities of the building have been very much restricted by the extremely complex outline of the plot and the limitation of the building height due to the low buildings on the eastern side. The two parallel blocks of varying height consist of the “tower building”, situated closer to the main road and emphasizing the corner position, and a lower wing, providing the background and functioning as a visual border.
The floor plan of the building has a clear geometric design based on the above elements. The low-key, two-storey high, elegant main entrance hall, located between the main blocks, reflects on its lateral walls the proportions of the exterior facades and it is open in a north – south direction. The vertical circulation cores, serving the upper office floors, contain two elevators each. A bank branch office and aa restaurant, capable of serving more than four hundred persons, open from the entrance hall. The office spaces on the upper floors are well-lit, due to the geometry and the favourable dimensions of the building, and the floor-to-ceiling windows have a very positive effect on the interior spaces. The layout of the various office spaces is flexible and adjustable due to the divisions of the facade. The offices on the 6th, 7th and 8th floors have large terraces derived from the stepped form of the building. There are shops and showrooms opening towards the ground floor public areas. The three-storey garage of the building is located underground.
The clear geometric design of the building is emphasized by the façade and the use of materials. The monotony of the reddish corten steel cladding between the one-storey high openings on the grid -like facade system is relieved by randomly placed glazed surfaces of a complementary green colour. The internal parts of the building, connecting the main blocks, have fully glazed surfaces.
Location: Budapest XIII., Váci út 193. Built: 2010 Architect: TIMA Zoltán Associate architects: SZŐKE Marianna, NAGY Borbála Area: 18,500 m2
