Meininger Hotel, Budapest

Architects: Bence Vadász, Zoltán Miklós
Text: Zoltán Dragon
Photos: Tamás Bujnovszky

Behind the Market Hall in Budapest now opened a hotel the designs of which had originally been made for a more elegant four-star hotel, and have been modified according to the needs of its clients after the crisis so as to integrity more youthful and colourful solutions of interior design with apartments with more rooms. The windows make up continuous bands on the exterior which means that there is no sign of the inner layout of the rooms. The rooms are individual and independent units but appear from the outside as joint communal spaces seen as colourful ribbons of glass among concrete bands. Each room has a different palette and the lighting at night allows us to sneak a peek into the interiors. According to Bence Vadász this kind of projection humanizes the Brutalist style building and also makes it playful. It is a communal experience, as the common space governs the ground floor as well – the two-storey reception area opens toward the exterior, the urban fabric through a glass partition facade. The phraseology of these spaces actually manifest the changes in contemporary thinking.

General Design: Vadász és Társai Építőművész Kft.
Leading architect: Bence Vadász
Architect: Zoltán Miklós
Structure: Balázs Ungi
Garden, landscape: Dániel Kontra
HVAC: László Temesvári
Electrical engineering: Ferenc Kelemen
Framework: Gábor Schreiber
Fire protection: Miklós Varga, István Varga
Traffic: Zoltán Pető
Kitchen technology: Ágnes Straub
Environment: László Weiner
Acoustics: Róbert Csott
Elevator: Sándor Nagy
Client: BEDORI Investment Kft.
Main contractor: Swietelsky