Design Concept for Hotel: Paulay Ede Street No. 52, Budapest
The property is adjoined on the right by a unique building, one of Budapest’s most beautiful structures, the famed Andrássy Boulevard’s crown jewel. It was designed by Gusztáv Petschacher in 1882 and purchased bz the Municipal Casino Ltd. The three-story neo-renaissance building was called the Paris Department Store. Later, in 1958, it was renamed Fashion Hall.
The building at 52 Paulay Ede Street was bombed in World War II, its roof got destroyed, and has never been repaired. The inside courtyard shows rough, ad hoc modifications, dismantling, expansions. The original, refined plastering of the façade was cleared away and coarsely simplified by the repeated renovations.
Our design concept examines the possibility of turning it into a hotel by adding four more floors and a penthouse to the wing facing the street. The expansion opens to the street with large glassed façade elements.
The design was never realised, the eclectic building changed hands and was later condemned to be torn down with the approval of the district architect’s office, despite its protection under historic preservation regulations.
Design: 2016
