Bem Center Office Building, Hotel Kimpton Bem, Budapest

Architects: Katalin Csillag, Zsolt Gunther
Text: Tamás Ulrich
Photos: Tamás Bujnovszky

The Radetzky barracks’ eventful history is a perfect example of how to find the suitable investors, financial support and dedicated architects who respect the building for a well-chosen new function. The recent reconstruction of the dilapidated barracks building has restored the stately 19th-century building to its original glory and dignity, and has integrated it smoothly into the city’s contemporary image and fabric. In 2018, architects Katalin Csillag and Zsolt Gunther completed a concept design that proposed a structure that would preserve the main façade walls of Bem Square as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but would demolish the rear wings and street wings of the building, including the granary, as a backdrop to the Danube riverfront. This has led to the creation of a three-storey underground car park, office spaces for rent with sectional conference rooms, a 127-room luxury hotel behind the façade overlooking the river Danube, and retail space for rent on the street. The retained neoclassical main façade has been restored with the original rhythm of the openings and plaster architecture. The designers have marked the imaginary boundary between the remaining part of the old building and its rendered façades and the stone-clad façades of the new wings by a striking step-back and a change of building materials. The creation of a covered pedestrian passageway connecting the two side streets, which also serves as a lobby for the building, was a splendid idea: it restores a missing component of the urban fabric and provides a passage through the new block, which is nicely emphasised by the glazed elements of the façade from the street.

Lead architects: Katalin Csillag, Zsolt Gunther – 3h Architects
Project architects: Tamás Békesi, Ádám Farkas
Fellow architects: Zsolt Henczel, Dénes Horváth, Csenge Kővári, Mirtill Mihály, Kristóf Molnár, Adrienn Négyessy, Kristóf Szabó, Tamás Szász, Anna Szőgyi, Olívia Villányi, Gergely Vörös
Structure: Péter Markovits, Gábor Tamás, Róbert Kazsimérszky – MTM Consulting
HVAC: Zoltán Gróza, Sándor Reho, Zoltán Maszlik – Körös Consult
Electrical engineering: Gábor Kun, Viktor Kovács, Tibor Komlósi – Hungaroproject Enginering
Fire protection: Decsi György – Fireeng Ltd.
Building construction: Gergely Sipos – Arkkitehti Ltd.
Landscape architect: Gergely Lád – Geum Studio
Acoustics: Róbert Csott – 95 Apszis
Roads, traffic: Attila Tóth – TP-Terv Engineering
Accessibility: András Pandula– NT Control
Environment protection: Attila Bakos – Akusztika Engineering
Kitchen technology: Piroska Kaszab – Gépház Ltd.