In the Public Procurement Bulletin, Steindl Imre Program Nonprofit Zrt. Announces an open tender for the 11th district, Szent Gellért square 4, the so-called Ch-building, and Eötvös Lóránd University, Faculty of Law, 5th District, Egyetem square 1–3. for the general design of the roof reconstruction of the building. As we wrote , the government decided on the investment in the public interest in November 2020.

As can be seen from the Bulletin, a total of 437 square meters of historic building elements will be reconstructed on the BME building, including the adjoining high roofs facing Szent Gellért Square. The dome and the associated roof decorations and ornate roof superstructure are restored to their original condition, ie before the destruction of the war. Contemporary documents and photographs are available, based on which the external appearance, shape and geometry of the roof can be determined.

The Ch building of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics on Gellért Square (Photo: bme.hu)

The contractor must also plan for the laboratories in the building to be ventilated through the attic in such a way that the laboratories are continuously ventilated during and after the roof reconstruction.

The entire dome will be restored during the roof reconstruction at the BME building (Source: bme.hu)

The historic roof of the building of the University of the Faculty of Law of Eötvös Loránd University will also be reconstructed according to the announcement. In doing so, the general designer must take into account the exterior condition of the 1,200-square-meter dome facing the University Square and the associated attic roof, as well as the roof decoration, the ornate roof structure prior to war damage and subsequent destruction. Contemporary documents and photographs are also available here, which serve as the basis for the design.

The building of the Faculty of Law of Eötvös Loránd University on the University Square (Photo: Both Balázs / pestbuda.hu)

In the case of both buildings, the task is to design the roof profile with a curved surface in two directions, to shell it, to design decorative tin elements, as well as decorative tin sections, as well as decorative tin ornamentation and figural elements, the announcement indicates. The design of the reconstruction of the natural slate roof profiles and the elements of the building sculpture (stone, artificial stone, plaster or ceramic) will also be part of the work.

The building of the University of Budapest (today ELTE ÁJK) in 1900 (Photo: FSZEK Budapest Collection)

The Ch-pavilion for chemical chemistry, which houses some departments of the Faculty of Chemical and Bioengineering of BME, was designed by Győző Czigler. On the one hand, the first building of the campus defined the image of Gellér Square, but it also faithfully shows the architectural language of Győző Czigler - you can read in the information of BME.

The construction took place between 1902 and 1904, and Czigler designed the wooden roof structure imitating the dome to increase the effect on Gellért Square. The dome was severely damaged during World War II and was later restored.

The four-storey neo-baroque palace of the Faculty of Law of the Eötvös Loránd University was designed by Sándor Baumgarten and Zsigmond Herczegh, Antal Szkalnitzky, Antal Wéber and József Lippert, adapted to the style of the church building next to it. The dome was also destroyed in the during World War II and its restoration is still pending.

Source: Public Procurement Announcement, Pestbuda.hu, bme.hu, elte.hu, 

Cover photo: The demolished dome of both university buildings is being rebuilt, Steindl Imre Program Nonprofit Zrt. Has just announced a public procurement procedure for the general design (Photo: bme.hu, elte.hu)