The essence of architecture lies in the sensible use of space – in the appropriate formation of a space intended for a precisely defined function, and in its behaviour within its environment. The designer does not primarily compose façades, but rather creates a coherent system of spaces, a harmonious relationship of masses and proportions. The ‘external skin’ of the building, the façade, is subordinated to this aim.
These principles guide the design method of Tamás János Szabó. Starting from the character of the site, he carefully considers the client’s requirements, the function of the building, the regulatory constraints pertaining to the given plot and programme, and examines how the future building can behave in the most appropriate way in relation to all these factors: how it is able to communicate with its users and its surroundings, and how it can express both its own time and the historical context of its location. He designs for the present, yet does not follow transient fashions; he is convinced that a building is successful when it does not offer a rigid framework, but is capable of adapting to specific patterns of use and of providing adequate inspiration. Rather than conveying messages, his buildings articulate relationships; consequently, what we read from them is not a system of signs, but the interrelation of masses, the relationship between exterior and interior, and the harmony between use and appearance. He believes that the architect’s task is not merely an engineering or image-making activity, but a form of universal creation: a well-designed building expresses its own era, the past of its environment, and the value of its use; it communicates as a multifaceted, living entity. A characteristic feature of his buildings is transparency: they reveal the rich, constantly changing life of their interior spaces. They do not separate, but connect the worlds of inside and outside. For this reason, their façades often open up; glass walls protect the interior like a membrane, yet do not sever it from the exterior. This dynamic, translucent, continuously communicating character, radiating a high degree of openness, and this focus on living operation, has defined the architecture of Tamás János Szabó from his very first independent works.
Bellevue Plaza (today Uniqa Plaza), Budapest, 1998 (co-designer: János Plájer)
In 1998, one of his first independent projects brought him significant professional recognition. At a representative site in Budapest’s inner city – on the plot of the former Cziráky Palace, originally designed by József Hild (later remodelled by Miklós Ybl and subsequently used as the National Casino) – he transformed the twelve-storey Hungarotex headquarters, built in the 1960s at the corner of Kossuth Lajos Street and Szép Street, into an elegant office building while retaining its concrete structural frame. The cornice height was aligned with that of the neighbouring buildings, and the façade facing Kossuth Lajos Street creates an urban wall that continues the eclectic character of the surrounding architecture, yet translates its overall image into contemporary materials, proportions and a dynamic organisation of mass. The ground floor, perforated with arcades and a passageway, became part of the city fabric; the pronounced elevation of the mansard level and the emphasis of the corner with a tower-like volume introduced a sense of movement into the building. The refined details of the inner garden reinterpret the function of the office building. The inclination of the upper floors counterbalances the building’s height, while the roof terrace forms a striking ‘fifth façade’ which, thanks to its lush planting, is also perceptible from the street. Pleasant, dynamic massing, the treatment of the façade as hole architecture, transparency and the additive application of varied forms – already in this first major work all those features are present that would later render the architecture of Tamás János Szabó distinctive and immediately recognisable.
WestEnd MÁV Passenger Hall, Budapest, 1999
The visual overture of the WestEnd complex – almost a city district in scale – is the entrance leading to the side wing of Budapest Nyugati Railway Station [Budapest Western railway station]. Behind it, by significantly enlarging the space of the Eiffel Hall and extending it towards Váci Road, a new head building was created. In its immediate vicinity opens the ground-floor main entrance of the shopping centre, the two connecting at the level of the urban space. The shopping centre’s brick façade architecture forms a striking urban wall along Váci Road, and certain façade surfaces of the MÁV [Hungarian State Railways] hall relate to this material usage. The dynamic form of the shopping centre’s canopy also reappears in the inclined roof structure of the head building, though the formal analogies do not extend beyond this point. The rational plan and airy spatial structure of the MÁV passenger hall respond directly to its function; its glass façade renders it transparent and, instead of the building’s visual image, places the very purpose of the space – intense everyday traffic – at centre stage. From the outside it appears as an attractive metropolitan node shaped by dynamic gestures; inside, it is a clearly organised, legible space. It connects effortlessly both to the turn-of-the-century atmosphere of the Eiffel Hall and to the contemporary architecture of the WestEnd complex.
Residential Buildings in District 13 of Budapest, 2004–2008
Following the relocation of industrial functions, the renewal of Budapest’s 13th district hinged on the creation of a liveable and attractive residential environment. Large-scale developments were launched in the first decade of the 21st century, and by now the results are clearly visible: the housing stock has appreciated in value, and the area has become a calm, sought-after riverside residential zone. Tamás János Szabó’s large-scale apartment buildings have played a significant role in this process (Premier Ház [Premier House], 2004; Center Ház [Center House], 2005; Ikon Ház [Icon House], 2006; Fókusz Ház [Focus House], 2006). Their shared characteristics include the diversity and articulation typical of grown cities, and the use of dynamically animated façades instead of rigid urban walls. As a result, the large, seven–eight-storey residential blocks have become self-contained micro-environments, their formal richness generating exciting spatial relationships. The arcade-like perforation of the ground floor draws urban movement into the space of the building; striking corner motifs, green roofs, the dynamic rhythm of terraces and the overall image of expansive roof terraces render the buildings highly attractive. The blocks suggest openness towards the street while hinting at a rich inner world, and contain apartments of varying sizes and comfort levels. The broken-line street frontage and colourful dividing ribs of Premier Ház create a playful effect, while the cladding changes on the upper façade of Ikon Ház, together with the structural framework of its upper levels, lend lightness to otherwise substantial masses. Asymmetrical details, an easy rhythm and dynamic mass formation characterise these residential buildings, resulting in a new, distinctive and high-quality living environment within the district.
Új vásárcsarnok (New Market Hall), Debrecen, 2008 (co-designer: Szabolcs Dienes)
In its appearance, the new market building in Debrecen does not relate to the city’s architectural traditions; yet in its spatial organisation and atmosphere it evokes the life of the classical urban agora. It expresses its own era and its multifaceted functional ties to the city, while its sculptural mass dominates the space. It deliberately avoids archaic references; instead, it presents the contemporary notion of the market as a place of encounter and a form of communication.
As a building, it functions as a market hall, yet at the same time it is a covered open space, like a traditional market. This duality is resolved by a design concept in which the surfaces enclosing the space – walls, windows and roof alike – are glass structures, transparent membranes that blur the boundary between inside and outside. The building does not form rigid spatial walls, but articulates the surrounding space; its additive mass composition itself evokes a small city. The so-called Spanish steps flanking the hall on two sides lead up to the inclined, dynamically contoured roof plane, which appears to float above the volume. This floating effect is further enhanced by the two office wings that pierce the roof and rise above it; the clock placed atop one of them accentuates their tower-like character. The light-toned, planar mass, the white roof plate and the terracotta-effect cladding of the office towers create a lively overall composition. Inside, light, neutral materials – stone and porcelain – reinforce the airy, light atmosphere of the two-storey market space. The central passage covered by a skylight and the upper-level gallery form a transparent, easily legible spatial structure, whose strongest qualities are openness, order and neutrality: here, the emphasis is not on architectural detail, but on everyday use and on the rich communicative and visual experience of market life.
Fórum Cultural and Shopping Centre, Debrecen, 2009 (co-designers: József Finta, Gábor Péter)
The shopping centre in Debrecen is a prominent element of the city centre, forming a striking formal parallel with the covered market building also designed by Tamás János Szabó. Like the market, the Fórum radically breaks with the city’s earlier, flat development pattern reflecting its former market-town origins, and appears as a strongly articulated complex composed of tall volumes, diagonal planes and far-projecting structural frameworks. It even incorporates a cylindrical theatre volume with an adjoining roof garden. The central mass is a multi-storey, glass-roofed passage – a covered shopping street – running the full length between entrances positioned at either end. In contrast to the rhythmically animated exterior, rich in vistas and emphatic proportions, the interior spatial design is rational, austere and simple; here, the colourfulness of the shops and the flow of traffic enliven the visual experience. While the exterior is characterised by surprising angular shifts, inclined planes and variably shaped masses, symmetry and order dominate inside, and architectural form recedes into the background behind the ever-changing visual elements of use. The cylindrical theatre block, articulated by vertical ribs, is currently out of operation; its mechanical and interior fit-out was expected to be completed by 2017. The elongated roof garden has become a popular communal space within the city.
K&H Bank Group Headquarters, Budapest, 2012 (co-designers: Zoltán Kulcsár, Gábor Péter)
The K&H Bank headquarters, located at the southern end of the Millenniumi Városközpont (Millennium City Centre), breaks the more rigid urban wall formed by the surrounding buildings, which otherwise separates the Danube from Soroksári Road. The lightness of the terminal block dissolves the visual transition between the stricter character of the Városközpont (City Centre) and the distinctive presence of the National Theatre and the Palace of Arts (Müpa Budapest). The horizontal white ribs between the floors, together with the white plate running above the recessed ground floor, are doubled at roof level, forming a network that unifies the composition of transparent glass volumes. The dynamic articulation of the masses and the avoidance of symmetry evoke natural processes of mass formation, while the white frame lends stability to the composition. The strongly articulated glass façade breaks with the formerly introverted attitude of bank buildings, which withdrew behind massive walls, and instead suggests openness and a willingness to engage in dialogue. Through the multiple layers of glass walls arranged one behind another, the longitudinal façade becomes fully transparent at certain points, allowing views from Soroksári Road all the way to the Danube; moreover, subtle light refractions are created, further enhancing the optical effect.
Inside, an equally compelling spatial experience unfolds. Thanks to the glass walls of the atria that open through the full height of the building and are flooded with natural light, the upper-level offices become part of the shared space; almost the entire mass becomes visually transparent, while well-proportioned spatial articulation and the projecting volumes of service blocks create clearly defined units. The metal structures appearing within the space possess a pronounced sculptural quality. Yet the building’s uniqueness lies not only in its rich architectural expression of openness. The appropriate tempering of such a large, continuous air volume is possible only through energy-conscious, high-quality mechanical solutions. The headquarters’ well-tempered interior spaces, the heating–cooling suspended ceilings, the climate façades and the natural airflow ensured by operable surfaces are all centrally controlled, as are the shading devices that balance the abundance of natural light. The building utilises renewable energy sources to such a high standard that it was awarded the LEED international certification for energy efficiency and environmental performance.
GE Zenon Educational Centre, Oroszlány, under construction (co-designers: Zoltán Kulcsár, Gábor Péter)
The educational centre in Oroszlány, commissioned by the water purification technology manufacturing plant of General Electrics, accommodates a visitor and training centre whose appearance, overall effect and operational system also convey the company’s ‘face’.
One element of the building complex, the gatehouse ‘emerging from the ground’, serves as the entrance to the factory complex and the space of arrival. Through its expressive form, it acts as a transition between building and terrain. The broken-line, tent-like roof, supported by slender columns and framed by a white band, gently hovers above the ground; beneath it, a vehicular entrance and a gate area opening through glass walls have been created. The two-storey training centre, bounded by white fibre-cement panels and glass walls, is received by the recess of an existing building on the site; its sculptural volume appears to float above the ground and connects to the two existing blocks via a glass roof, thereby assuming a linking role. The ground floor houses reception areas and sports facilities, while the upper level contains a 110-seat conference hall and a larger meeting room, both opening entirely through glass walls, intensifying the sensation of floating. The plastic form-making combines 21st-century technology with openness to the environment and a high degree of playfulness.
Hall of Residence of the Ludovika Campus, 2015 (co-designers: Zoltán Kulcsár, Gábor Péter)
The new Ludovika Campus, located on the opposite side of Nagyvárad Square, connects thematically well to the nearby medical university complex. The placement of its units is equally rational: towards Nagyvárad Square, it is not the teaching block but the dormitory that opens up, allowing student life to connect directly with the city’s circulation. The building’s form highlights this gateway role. The arms of the H-shaped plan, articulated by two broken-line curves, open out towards the square to form a generous entrance zone, from which the route narrows as it leads students to the building’s entrance. From this viewpoint, the building presents a dynamic curve framed in white towards the city, whose horizontal façade articulation is elegantly counterpointed by vertical dividing ribs highlighted in colour. The hole architecture of the two projecting wings is relieved by the elegant, transparent glass surface of the connecting central element, making the functional order legible even from the exterior: residential units in the wings, communal spaces at the centre. The primary aim of the concept is to foster connections – instead of isolated living units, it seeks to provide a home for genuine communities, naturally requiring appropriate spaces for shared activities. The atrium is enclosed on both sides by glass façades, making natural light a fundamental experience; moreover, an internal atrium and a rear entrance opening onto the park create a refined transition between exterior and interior space. Along the full length of the ground floor runs a teaching space divisible into three independent sections; this level also accommodates the student council, the dormitory management offices and service areas. The second ground-floor entrance opens directly onto Orczy Garden; together with the forthcoming sports facilities and the comprehensive redevelopment of the park, this offers students an exceptional lifestyle within a densely built urban district. The result is a high-quality dormitory building with well-communicating, well-usable spaces, whose formal and structural counterpart will be the campus’s new teaching building currently under construction.
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Viewed from the middle of his oeuvre, several fundamental characteristics of Tamás János Szabó’s architectural quality emerge with clarity, above all his rational understanding of the present problems of the environment and the interrelations of urban context. This understanding gives rise to a range of design solutions that respect the past while remaining resolutely focused on the present and the future.
[2016]