White House Office Block, Budapest

Architect: Zoltán Tima
Text: Miklós Okrutay
Photos: Tamás Bujnovszky

There is no doubt that the section of Váci Street in District 13 is one of the most dynamically evolving parts of Budapest today. Actually, it is almost impossible to recall the highly heterogenuous former image of this thoroughfare. Defined by mushrooming office blocks, this area does not only represent high-standard architecture, but also creates the illusion that that this city has a firm self-image, which is defined by its function to lead up to the centre of a metropolis. By preserving the hall of the former Elevator factory which reflects a certain degree of Art Nouveau style, and harmoniously integrating it into the newly built office block it conveys more than its counterpart because of this gesture. All this, in turn, may guarantee advantages in the market as well. As it contains offices to let, it is not only one of the many. Its image may depend on contemporary architecture, whilst its image and character was conceived in the past and evolved to its entirety in the world of today. The twostorey hall representing the world of its birth also stands as an independent system within the complex, and thus conveys its former existence as powerfully as possible. This way it creates its own self-identity whilst also making a significant contribution to the new identity of the complex it is part of.

General design: Tima Stúdió, KÖZTI Zrt.
Architect: Zoltán Tima
Projekt managing architect: Péter Márk
Fellow architects: Máté Szabó, Gabriella Öcsi, Kaplony Tölgyesi, István Boda, Borbála Gál, Tibor Molnár J., Zsófia Gönczöl
Structure: Sándor Horváth, Gábor Schreiber – Pataky és Horváth Kft.
Interiors: Beáta Molnár, Zsuzsanna Kiss-Gál – atelierarchitects
Graphic design: Attila Auth – Stég Kft.
Framework: Imre Gurubi, Ádám Becker
HVAC: Csaba Makáry, Gábor Csöppenszky – Agorex Kft.
Electrical engineering: András Máramarosi, András Ritzl, György Kapitor, Roland Szuhamella – Zona-Plan Kft.
Landscape, garden: Sándor Mohácsi, Dóra Polareczki – S73 Kft.
Traffic: János Szegő, Balázs Balogh – Közlekedés Kft.
Outdoor public utilities: Attila Bíró, Gábor Hanczár – Kész Tervező Kft.
Client: GTC Magyarország Ingatlanfejlesztő Zrt.