Architect: SKARDELLI György
The corner building, built in the 1920s, has been transformed into a modern design office by exterior and interior reconstruction. The building has good proportions with some neo-baroque details on the characteristic façade. It was not particularly difficult to fill it with life, without any special or substantial changes, to meet the requirements of the prestigious company in terms of both character and size.
The building has a partial basement, a ground floor and two storeys in the Ürömi Street wing, but it has only one upper storey in Lublói Street because of the steep gradient. The building had been built as the community centre of the Association of Catholic Journeymen originally, but after World War II. it became an office building until the fall of communism. The steep slope of the plot, located along Lublói Street, was transformed into a two-level garden long ago. The foliage of the trees ensured pleasant microclimatic conditions in the lower garden. There had been smaller buildings in the upper garden once, which were later demolished. The building had stayed empty for twenty years, but it was still in acceptable condition despite its dereliction. There were no partition walls left in the building, when they were pulled down, most of the load bearing walls were stripped of plaster and a significant part of the flooring was also removed. Due to these circumstances, it was easy to survey the structural condition of the building for the reconstruction.
The building has become completely functional with the preservation of the original load bearing walls and a thoughtfully planned rearrangement of the interior. Energy- and cost-saving operation has been a major requirement, moreover even more efficiently, than the actual power engineering regulations required. The exterior façade has got thermal insulation of a calculated thickness and the new doors and windows have been reproduced after the original pattern with triple glazing. The slabs have been reinforced, the piping installed in the walls and in the suspended ceiling provides heating in the winter and cooling in the summer.
The details emphasizing the dignity of the building, such as the ornaments of the portal, have been preserved and the window frame mouldings have been reconstructed. Due to all these efforts, the image of the building has changed only slightly, and its size has not changed at all. The reconstructed gate has become the new main entrance, its wide porte-cochère serves as a glazed vestibule. The reception desk is installed at the junction of the two wings, so both the people entering through the main entrance and those coming from the parking lot, located in the upper part of the plot, must pass the reception. There is a new elevator, and the original, refurbished staircase leads up to the studios, accommodated on the upper floors. Everyday work is facilitated by a large meeting room on the ground floor and several smaller ones on the upper floors. There is a terrace, surrounded by greenery and shaded by flowering trees in the lower part of the two-level garden, a pleasant place frequently used from spring to autumn. A parking lot has been built in the upper garden and there are mechanical and storage areas along the recessed retaining wall supporting the upper part of the plot.
Location: Budapest II., Lublói utca 2. Built: 2012 Architect: SKARDELLI György Associate architects: BORBÉLY András, CSÍZY László, KELEMEN Bálint, PETRI Dávid Interior architect: KERECSÉNYI Zsuzsa Landscape architect: HAVASSY Gabriella Area: 1117 m2
