Music exuding forest, levitating treasure boxes in the City Park ("Liget")
A MUSIC EXUDING FOREST AND LEVITATING TREASURE BOXES IN THE CITY PARK („LIGET”)
Europe’s most prominent cultural development, the City Park („Liget”) Budapest has called the attention of even world famous architects to itself. The principal design of this iconic facility was done by Su Fujimoto, Sedima Kazujo, Nisizava Rue, founders of Architectural Practice SANAA.
Journalist: Azari-Varga Viktória
Major architectural practices of Japan have been continuosly watching international architectural competition announcements, which is how they zeroed in on the City Park („Liget”) Budapest competition in 2015. The winning entry for the House of Hungarian Music was conceived by world famous architect Su Fujimoto, who dubbed it the Forest of Music.
But architectural ingenuity in itself is of no avail without the proper local partners, not even in the case of the world’s greatest. Behind all foreign star there must stand a professional local team, helping them to realize the concept by coordinating and organizing, by obtaining permissions, by being well versed in the plethora of national legal regulations. In the case of the House of Hungarian Music, from several Hungarian practices Su Fujimoto selected M-Teampannon Architects Ltd.
Our experience with major international projects obviously played a part in our securing the job - said Bence Varga dip. architect, partner in Teampannon Architects Ltd. – Mr Fujimoto and his team is being responsible for all architectural and design decisions, while we are being coordinating the work of 20 international and 80 Hungarian engineers and designers, which is a minimum number in the case of a top seeded cultural project like this - he elaborated.
A vintage Fujumoto building
Construction work has been proceeding for two years by now and despite just to be completed by the end of this year, the building has already been awarded several international architectural pizes, among them the Best public building of Europe and the Best music facility development of the World titles. The new institution of cca 10.000 sqm has replaced old Hungexpo office buildings on the site. The environment friendly edifice admittedly seeks to create a harmonious entity of the natural and of the artificial.
Contemporary Japan architecture is most thrilling, and it substantially differs from the European one. We are more inclined to a functional way of thinking while the Japanese are more of a close-to-nature, holistic persuasion stemming from their culture. They intentionally chose this specific project, it being in the very heart of the City Park „Liget” – Bence Varga went on. - Its motto is the „Forest of Music”, with internal spaces lying under a conspicuous, artificial foliage, musicians playing in its protection, while not being isolated from the natural ambience, thanks to the totally transparent perimeter walls - thus the lead architect of Teampannon Ltd delineated the design goal.
Even the Rolling Stones may be invited to perform in the House of Hungarian Music
Sound flipper, fusion music, robotic orchestra will play, and perhaps even the Rolling Stones will perform, in the House of Hungarian Music.
Su Fujimoto, regarded one of the most innovative of contemporary architects, treated us to no less than two architectural stunts:
1. with a double layer of roof structure undulating playfully between being thicker and thinner, while constantly remaining below the foliage level of the City Park („Liget”), the building harmonically mingles with the adjacent nature, a feat
2. even enhanced by the several stories high, 94 pieces of bespoke, contiguous glass planes, sometimes no less than 12m of height, constituting the largest uninterrupted, pure glass elevation in the whole of Europe.