The Workshop and Rehearsal Centre of the Hungarian State Opera, Budapest

Concept and text: Miklós Marosi

The State Opera House celebrated its 130th anniversary in 2014. The building it is housed in today has no capacity to suit all the functions it should as the complex is actually made up of two ensembles with an increasing number of debuts every year, which in turn changed the requirements concerning scenery, props and costumes, needing more space for rehearsal for both the orchestra and the actors too. This development is also meant to centrally position and store the scenery, props and costumes, to house the Opera studio and music school, as well as a visitors’ centre and a maintenance and management centre to co-ordinate all these functions. establishing and furnishing this new basis also offers the potentials to renovate the Ybl Opera House which is a must now on the agenda. The government offered the so-called Eiffel hall for this purpose which formerly housed the Northern Vehicle Repair Shop standing vacant now. This structure is the largest industrial hall in Hungary as well as a protected historic monument. The primary goal of the designer’s concept was to transform the protected hall and preserve the other three office structures on the same premises site which are approximately as old as the Eiffel hall and enjoy protection too along with the former forklift repair shop and blacksmith workshop so as to suit them to house the compulsory functions whilst clearing the whole site to create a suitable environment and context for the large-scale development.

Architecture: KÖZTI Zrt. Marosi Studió
Leading architect: Miklós Marosi
Architects: István Ács, Ágnes Pernesz, Anisz Rabie, Dániel Hódosi, Áron Dányádi, Adél Süveges, Viktória Weimper, László Csízy, Bálint Kelemen, Dávid Petri
Interiors: István Szenes (Szenes Design Kft)
Landscape: Flóra Potyondy (Park Terv Studio Kft)
Client: Magyar Állami Operaház