Hard Rock Hotel, Budapest

Architects: László Szász, Erzsébet Hajnády
Text: Tamás Ulrich
Photos: Tamás Bujnovszky

Stúdió’100 Ltd was invited to participate in a concept contest in 2008 targeted to start a scheme for a downtown hotel to be constructed on a united lot of three buildings on the corner of Nagymező and Ó Streets in the Pest side of the capital. This was how a 12-13 year long design stage which was completed by the construction of the hotel in 2020. After the integration of the three sites, a new wing was designed to replace the two badly deteriorated buildings in Ó Street with a well usable floor plan featuring a narrow interior courtyard which the inner rooms have a view of. Originally a cubic form with a dark palette, this block would have been a new approach with its pierced integral surface treatment and almost flat facade to the restored, surviving facade of the wing facing Nagymező Street with an eclectic style and characteristic ornamentation.
The projected three storey addition of the F+ 2 floored building has been realized by a web-like superstructure „crown” placed above the accentuated cornice of the old structure. Instead of the traditional and ordinary method of adding a storey, this solution was chosen to construct an integral block ont he eclectic style building using it as a plinth and thus emphasizing the new addition instead of hiding it behind the „newly” built eclectic style faux facade.
General architecture: Stúdió’100 Kft.
Leading architects: László Szász, Erzsébet Hajnády
Architects: Balázs Mórocz, Miklós Vannay; János Dombovári, Csaba Lengyel
Interiors: Lazaro Rosa-Violan Design Studio – LRV Barcelona
Structure: Zoltán Páricsy,Teréz Zwickl  – Páricsy és Tsa. Kft.
Elevation lattice: Anna Baróthy, Anita Pozna – S39 Hybrid Design Kft.
HVAC: Zoltán Virág, Gábor Csöppenszky, Attila Orcsi – Duoplan Kft.
Electrical engineering: Zoltán Ivanics, Bálint Tar– Provill Kft.
Lightning: Adrienn Hormay– Solinfo Kft.