Renovation of Matild Palace, Budapest

Architects: Antal Puhl, Péter Dajka
Text: Tamás Ulrich
Photos: Tamás Bujnovszky

The southern building, the Matild Palace, was the first of the elegant twin palaces at the Pest end of the Elizabeth Bridge. The area and the space associated with it became a major urban element in the late 1800s, when the bridge was built. The plots on which the twin palaces stand today were acquired by Princess Klotild, wife of Archduke Joseph of Habsburg-Lorraine. The symmetrical tenement palaces with their long facades and towers, like queens standing in a row wall, lead those coming from Pest to the Elisabeth Bridge. Completed in 1902, the palace has now been given a new function, called Matild Palace, as the five-star hotel of the Marriott collection chain, the Luxury Collection Hotel. The designers of the renovation have sought to transform the original floor plan, façade and spatial structure of the building in such a way that the new luxury hotel function fits organically into the building, retaining the original elements and features. The former driveway crossing the building became an intermediate space, an arcade.

Architecture: Puhl és Dajka Építész Iroda Kft.
Leading architects: Antal Puhl DLA, Péter Dajka
Project architect: Gabriella Takács
Fellow architects: Katalin Füzesi, Anna Rátkai, Zoltán Skrabák, Marianna Nagy, Viktória Stefán, Barbara Brosch
Structure: Gábor Becker dr.
Static: Tibor Pintér, Eszter Csíki, László Szántó
HVAC: András Oltvai, Tamás Oltvai – Oltvai Gépész Stúdió Kft.
Electrical installations: Zoltán Ivanics, Attila Nagy – Provill Kft.
Environment: Anikó Andor, Sarolta Torma – Land-A Műterem Kft., Bálint Koszorú – Város-Teampannon Kft.
Roads, traffic: Albert Kancz – Közlekedés Kft.
Public utilities: Éva Kovács, Ágnes Balogh – Főmterv Zrt.
Environment protection: Pálné Bite dr. – Vibrocomp Kft.
Acoustics: Éva Arató, Gergely Borsi – Arató Kft.
Elevators: Gábor Óvári – OTIS
Fire protection: György Decsi – Fireeng Kft.
Kitchen technology: Piroska Kaszab – Kende Gastro Kft.
Wellness technology: Zoltán Sallai – S-terv Kft.
Monument history expert: Ferenc Bor
Interiors: Maria Vafiadis – MKV Design, London