Cube House, Budapest

Architects: Minusplus
Text: Bálint Botzheim
Photos: Tamás Bujnovszky

The building stands in the middle of Madách Promenade and still is avoided by the pedestrian street as it is planned to be continued at Kazinczy Street. At present this is the end of the promenade, which is at the same time the centre of the party centre. In this context one might feel that the density of ruin pubs could be increased endlessly: and yet it is well worth creating a new place with a unique character.
Built on the yard at the end of the promenade, the building covers only a few hundred square metres and is yet present there as a kind of a new space fragment. Viewed from Kazinczy Street, the block seems to be two-storey one but actually, due to its shifted levels, it contains 6+1 levels for different functions in a continuous space organised around a central staircase. This special organisation of space is deducible from the original structure, the main pillar of which was in bad condition regarding statics, and thus had to be demolished. With it the ceilings were pulled down too. The space thus ensuing inspired architects to enter in a playful game with the transparency of the space. The interior of the Cube is a multi-layered one, offering one-time visitors a contemporary utilization of space and refined spatial proportions with details of Arts and Crafts standards to those sensitive to architecture.

Client: Cox Invest Kft., Mokoloko Plus Kft
Architecture: Zsolt Alexa, Donát Rabb, Ákos Schreck, Ferenc Kis, Tímea Molnár, Szabina Pap, Balázs Turai – Minusplus
Lighting fixtures: András Jánosi
Graphic design: Péter Oroszlány