Competition Entry: Fundamental Envisions “House of Hungarian Music” for Budapest

Written by Karissa Rosenfield
Published on October 18, 2014

Fundamental has shared with us their vision for the House of Hungarian Music, as part of the Liget Budapest Competition. Inspired by the Neo-Baroque and Neo-Gothic spires of the park’s monuments which surrounding it, the modest house features a folded, white canopy rooftop which illuminates its surroundings and provides natural light deep into its interiors.

More on Fundamental's proposal, after the break.

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Temporary Exhibition . Image © Fundamental

From the architect: Vision

As a medium of communication, music unites generations - history, present and future. Being a center for diverse encounters with music, our proposal celebrates this essential quality of music, providing opportunities for spontaneous exchange and synergies between generations of audience, artists, students, and educators.

Emphasizing integrity of music with the rest of the culture - our exhibition strategy of "music cells" places puzzles of the Hungarian musical memory into the wider cultural context through the multi-censorial experiences of ideas, sounds, tactile feelings and tastes that were prevalent at the time, starting with the prehistoric times and ending with the contemporary Hungarian music scene.

Architectural concept

Simple and yet elegant architectural language of the proposal is in tune with the rich history of the Liget park: the folds and the ridges of the translucent roof link it to the background of the Neo-Baroque and Neo-Gothic spires of the park's monuments. Lit from the bottom in the night and surrounded by the dense vegetation from all sides, this shining canopy is an image that visitors of the New Liget park will bring away with them.

Low volume of the building creates a scale integral for the park setting. The bulk of the building occupies a volume of 14 meters high, with only few ridges of the roof reaching the hight of 25 meters.

The heart of the building is the multifunctional lecture hall: a semi open triple high indoor public space. Its spatial organization allows for spontaneity, and access without scheduling; it can hold both formal and informal gatherings. Circulation flows connected to it allow to have a peek on what is happening here from all the levels. This space is a platform for dialogue between music professionals, fans and those who seldom experience it.

The proposal adapts two spatial strategies for the permanent and temporary exhibitions. Organization of the permanent exhibition relates to the historical and scientific development of music and sound, from primitive musical instruments and first prenatal hearing to the contemporary music and musical science. It contains a range of spaces dedicated to a particular musical period or theme within which there are cells that tell a story of a particular personality, region, etc. Background information is provided in the spaces in-between music cells where visitors can immerse into the environment of the historical period and connect music to its social and cultural background. Temporary exhibition on the upper level is conceptually in a stark juxtaposition to the intricate labyrinthine experience of the permanent exhibition below. It is a wide open space lit from the top through the translucent canopy by soft, diffused natural light. Its spatial arrangement allows flexibility and quick adaptation to different curatorial requirements by lifting and moving curtain partitions. Permanent and temporary exhibitions are knit together by a series of light wells and stairs, that bring light and visibility to the permanent exhibition.

Ground floor contains multifunctional lecture hall, that organizes entrance area, museum learning center, cafe and museum shop around it. A wide staircase on the eastern side of the building connects the ground floor with the permanent and the temporary exhibition levels. An additional staircase abutting the multifunctional lecture hall brings visitors back to the ground floor from the top level.