The Budapest Architecture Award was open to works in the administrative area of Budapest that improve the architectural image of Budapest or the use and appearance of a part of the city. This year, the best have been selected from a large number of applicants, about 27 applications. The award-winning sports hall is marked by architects Zsolt Félix and Tamás Fialovszky.

The concept of the gymnasium of St. Margaret's High School, completed in 2020, was primarily determined by its location on the site. “In addition to the 100-year-old monument, the new complex today reflects modernity in the same way as the European-standard girls’ institute built in the 1930s. The contrast and harmony of the old and the new is what we thought about mostly during the design,” the creators of the award-winning plan emphasized.  

Today, the new complex reflects modernity in the same way as the girls' institute built in the 1930s (Photo: MTI / Lajos Sós)

The back of the gymnasium has been moved underground, and the side facades are increasingly protruding from the ground (Photo: MTI / Lajos Soós)

The contrast between the old and the new was a challenge for architects when designing the sports hall, which was awarded the Budapest Architecture Award (Photo: epstudio.hu) 

The plot of land that can be built into Szent Gellért Hill provided enough space behind the grammar school, and due to the slope of the area, the placement of the crowd was sunk into the terrain and integrated into the ground. The edifice was hidden in the hillside, the large crowd buried in the green. The back of the sports hall is already completely underground, the side facades are increasingly protruding from the ground, and the gallery level of the south façade is now fully perceptible.

Zoltán Erő, the chief architect of Budapest, said at the award ceremony: the aim of the capital's tender is, among other things, to point out high-quality, remarkable buildings. The quality of the architecture was considered a priority in the review, but they also want to set an example for future investors and builders with the winners.

A record-breaking handball court on top of the new gymnasium at St. Margaret's High School. The plot of land behind the grammar school, which can be built into Szent Gellért Hill, provided enough space for the building (Photo: MTI / Lajos Soós)

Balázs Csapó, President of the Budapest Chamber of Architecture, spoke about the fact that the durability of the buildings was an important consideration when judging the submitted entries, which is reflected in the use and aesthetic durability of the buildings.

The building of the Bánáti and Hartvig Architects' Office (Béla Bánáti, Lajos Hartvig), the Eiffel Workshop (Miklós Marosi, István Ács, Ágnes Örösné Pernesz, Aniszach Rabie), the Loffice Budapest Community Office Building (Ádám Paládi) Rehabilitation of Sebestyén Street Synagogue (Tamás Kőnig, Péter Wagner) received an award - as heard in the online results announcement.

The Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House received praise (Photo: Opera House)

The Rumbach Sebestyén Street Synagogue was also praised (Photo: Both Balázs / pestbuda.hu)

The exhibition of the works can be viewed at the Fuga - Budapest Architecture Center from Friday to 29 November.

Source: MTI

Cover photo: The gymnasium of St. Margaret's High School received an architectural award (Photo: epstudio.hu)