Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 18. (Budapest, 1999)
Zsuzsanna LOVAY: Endre Thék and the Design of the Prime Minister's Study in the Hungarian Parliament
ZSUZSANNA LOVA Y ENDRE THÉK AND THE DESIGN OF THE PRIME MINISTER'S STUDY IN THE HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT Law LVIII of 1880 ordered that a competition be held for the construction of a permanent home for both houses of the Hungarian Parliament on Tömő tér, on the Danube embankment, in Budapest's Vth District. In 1884 the open competition for the building of the Hungarian nation's new Parliament was announced. Of the nineteen architects who submitted entries, the majority designed buildings consisting of Renaissance and Baroque elements, for the most part placing the emphasis on a central domed hall or on the debating chambers. The winner was the architect Imre Steindl, a professor at Budapest's Technical University. The building he designed is Baroque as far as space and mass are concerned, elongated and strictly symmetrical. The edifice, which is large, strongly articulated and Gothic in its detail, unites in its middle section in a pronounced dome, in the spirit of the Baroque. Combining Gothic with a dome was not without precedent (e.g., Friedrich Schmidt's Maria vom Siege church, Fünfhaus; Friedrich Schmidt's plans for the Vienna Parliament; and George Gilbert Scott's plans for the Reichstag building in Berlin). Steindl had a thorough knowledge of surviving examples of mediaeval Hungarian architecture, as well as significant experience in restoration work, primarily of buildings in the Gothic style (KoSice Cathedral, the parish churches at Bardejov and SpiSská Nova Ves, Budapest's Parish Church of the Inner City, and many other buildings). A report by Parliament's Transportation Committee supported Steindl' s plan, arguing that the Gothic style, if not sufficiently national, was the one excellently suited to the representation of the most exalted ideals of liberty and state power. Hence, in 1885, Imre Steindl could embark on the largest, and also the last, construction project of his career. He did not live to see the handing over of the building on 8 October 1902, since he died on 31 August that year. The edifice was finally completed only in 1904. In the Historicism period at the end of the 19th century- in line with the practice established since the Renaissance - the ideas of the architect were followed when fashioning the interior spaces of larger buildings serving purposes of prestige and display; and in some cases the architect himself designed the more important furniture and fittings. In accordance with the practice of the age Steindl outlined the character of some of the more important spaces in his Parliament building, determining their style. Characteristic of the interior decoration of the Parliament is a Revival style combining Nco-Baroque and Neo-Gothic elements, with extensive sculpted and painted adornments alien to the building's functional elements. The rich and varied use of fine materials in the interior spaces and highlevel technical execution were intended to serve prestige and display purposes.
