Project
National Széchényi Library
Category
Best Design Project for Library
About the project
The new connecting building will have a recessed façade to emphasize the remaining, historical buildings.
This new home for an old library provides it with much-needed extra space, and helps to re-animate a historic district of Budapest resulting in a new cultural district behind Hungary’s National Museum. Entered via a multi-storey foyer with a buffet and shop, it offers 500-600 readers a naturally lit space (3000 sq.m) to read recent books, while those published before 1980 can be rented from storages. Copies from all over the country are received here daily. There are also special collections whose significance parallels that of nearby buildings, such as the Károlyi (by Ybl Miklós in 1863) and Eszterházy Palaces (by Antal Baumgarten in 1871). This is a double regeneration: a new home for an important library that brings life back to historic buildings.
Location
Budapest, Hungary
Project design year
2019
Project website
https://a4studio.hu/en/references/national-szechenyi-library
Applicant and authors of the project
A4 Studio.
«Our company was established in 1992 in Budapest Hungary. Our motto is:
There are architects who subordinate their talent to the requirements of the client. There are architects who force their ideas upon the clients. However there are architects who try to find a solution through a dialogue that perfectly satisfies the client's desire but at the same time does not set limit to the architect's creative attitude.»
Architect Géza Kendik.