We have taken another step closer to the construction of the new Transport Museum, as we received the first building permit for the construction of our new home in Kőbánya, Dávid Vitézy, CEO of the Budapest Development Center, announced on Facebook. The first to receive a permit for the reconstruction of four smaller buildings in the northeast corner of the property, which will be rescued from the former facilities of the Northern Vehicle Repair Facility. The central museum building is still being planned.

In a resolution issued on 24 September, the government decided in connection with the planned Transport Museum that the remediation and demolition work in the part of Kőbánya provided for the institution could start next year, and experts are already working on a tender for the construction. Reconstruction of the four smaller buildings now licensed will begin shortly. The planning of the large, central museum building is still in progress, where the acquisition of building permits is planned for the beginning of 2022, Dávid Vitézy said in a recent Facebook post.

The planned new structure of the museum. Plan: Transport Museum / Diller Scofidio + Renfro (Photo: Vitézy David / Facebook)

The museum was the first to obtain permits to renovate and rebuild the following buildings:

  • Built in the 1950s, it is an iconic Cold War shelter. The building is under monument protection, and its contemporary furnishings have been completely preserved in a unique way on a national level. At the exhibition, visitors can learn about the equipment and history of the bunker, gaining an insight into the world of the Cold War era and the nuclear threat. The building will also feature art installations in the building according to current design.
  • Next to it is a ground-floor building built in the beginning of the 20th century, evoking a railway atmosphere, in which the museum will have a restaurant and a café. This building stood behind the bar of Kertem this summer, perhaps making it easier for many to identify with.
  • The most northern of the four buildings, the locomotive weighing house built in the 1970s, will retain its new function: the museum will set up a smaller restoration workshop here.
  • The fourth building, right behind the Diesel Hall, is the only building in the area that survived World War II, a railway-style warehouse with an event and exhibition space. The building may also feature social functions that carry on the former rich cultural life of the Northern Vehicle Repair.

The only railway building in the vicinity of the Diesel Hall that survived the World War II bombings will be rescued, it will be part of the new museum, the renovation has now received a building permit (Photo: Dávid Vitézy / Facebook)

In 2019, the jury unanimously selected the world-famous architectural firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro in New York and its Hungarian partner, the M-Teampannon architectural firm led by Ybl Prize winner Tamás Noll. The investment is fully financed by the central budget.

The buildings to be saved and the new museum garden (Photo: Dávid Vitézy / Facebook)

The new Museum of Transport can be a catalyst for the renewal of the abandoned industrial and railway areas of the whole district, Kőbánya and Józsefváros, with its permanent exhibition twice as large as before, the comprehensive rehabilitation of a brownfield area, including the development of a railway station, new public spaces and new quality green spaces. The goal is to create a new, family-friendly cultural district of international standard, which will also promote the further development of the area, Vitézy wrote in his post.

Source: Dávid Vitézy / Facebook

Cover photo: The permit for the construction of the new home of the Transport Museum in Kőbánya has been issued (Photo: Dávid Vitézy / Facebook)