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Láng Cultural Center building reconstruction










Architect
Nagy Csaba, Pólus Károly
Company
Archikon Kft.
Designed in
2017
Built in
2018
Address
1139 Budapest, Rozsnyai utca 3.
Prizes
Budapest Award of Architectural Excellence, Special Commendation, 2019
The building has a history of over eighty years, always serving as a cultural center. The expansion, designed by György Tokár in the seventies, made it an iconic building, so continuity was one of the most important aspects during the reconstruction: to respect existing architectural values and to preserve communities living and working in the district.
The cultural center was built by the owners of the Láng Machine Factory in 1932 for the education and entertainment of workers and their family members. The institution, which has been operating continuously since then, is a crucial element of the Angyalföld residents’ identity. In 1970, a 456-seat theater and a newspaper reading room were added to the building, designed by György Tokár. In 2018, the municipality decided to upgrade and modernize the energy supply of the facility.
From the outside, the original washed gravel façade panels were insulated, while aluminum curtain wall elements and windows with thermal bridge were replaced with modern ones. The architects boldly re-considered the façade: they covered the insulation with small-block clinker brick with the knurled back facing outwards. Now the uniform new façade design enhances the space- and mass-forming effect of the building and its place in the urban context, so the widening space in front of the building can become a real urban place.
It is even more typical for the interiors that architects have sought to preserve the original materials and structures. The artificial stone surface of the entrance ticket office, the beautifully laid Mezőtúr brick wall of the Great Hall and the lobby were all preserved, and the paneling of the Great Hall was reassembled to its former place after renovation. The contemporary use of materials and colors does not disturb the original overall design by György Tokár, because the designers reshaped one of the beautiful but hidden opuses of Hungary’s post-war modern architecture with exemplary compassion, respect, and elegance.
Co-designers
Dobos Bence László, Tőrös Ágnes, Benedek Botond
Collaborators
Mészáros Eszter, Várhidi Bence
Photo
Bujnovszky Tamás









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