Fabó Beáta - Gall, Anthony: I came from the East to a City of Great Palaces. Károly Kós, the early years 1907-1914 (Budapest, 2013)
Kós' First Steps as an Independent Architect
A BREATH OF TRANSYLVANIAN AIR IN BUDAPEST The Budapest Zoo is the end product of the political, artistic and architectural tendencies of the turn of the 20th century, although its unique atmosphere and the nature of visitors' experience strongly reflects the architectural outlook of its two main architects, Zrumeczky and Kós. The two of them were commissioned to make the plans for most of the Zoo's buildings by Kornél Neuschloss, and the construction was among the most exciting and most exotic undertakings in Hungary in the ten years preceding World War One. If the commission in itself was not a guarantee, then the growing support and acknowledgement enjoyed by the architects during the construction and the unquestionable success their project received were all good indications that the architectural ideals and philosophy represented by Kós, Zrumeczky and others corresponded to the ‘official’ ideas about architcture in Hungary at the time - and it brought new commissions to the two young artists as well. In this period Kós and his colleagues were in touch with the authorities of several boom towns throughout the country (Sepsiszentgyörgy/Sfántu Gheorghe, Marosvásárhely/Tárgu Mures, Kolozsvár/Cluj-Napoca and Kecskemét) and were on very good terms with the municipal council of Budapest as well as high-ranking ministry officials. The pavilions representing Hungary at the world expositions of the period (Paris, 1900; St Louis, 1904; Milano, 1906; Venice, 1909; and Turin- Rome, 1911) were referred to as embodiments of‘the national style! The new zoo had an important part to play in forging the identity of a new, bourgeois Budapest. The exhibitions, institutions and events created for the 1000th anniversary of the founding of the Hungarian state in and near the City Park, where the zoo was also located, made this part of the city more popular among citizens. After the celebrations were over and the related exhibition closed, the need for entertainment in this neighbourhood remained. The Zoo was thus not just a place where animals were kept, but a location for leisure and entertainment. A location that provided a wide range of architectural experience, be it the Ostrich House with its allusions to the Congo region, the Elephant House representing the colonial architecture of India or the great many buildings evoking the atmosphere of Transylvania with its special flavour of Hungarian culture. This artistic project did away with the contradictions between functionality and cultural considerations. A PROJECT BASED ON FOLK ARCHITECTURE In July 1908 Kós went on a further study trip to the Kalotaszeg/Tara Cälatei region of Transylvania with his colleague and friend, Zrumeczky. Their aim was to study and document the folk architecture of the region. They went to Magyarvalkó/ Väleni, Magyargyerömonostor/Mänästireni and Körösfő/Izvoru Crisului, they filled several notebooks with their sketches and returned to Budapest full of new impressions. Once back in the capital, the two young architects were given a unique opportunity to make use of what they gained from their study trip. The structural principles and shaping patterns inherent in folk architecture had been recognised and applied by famous Finnish contemporary architects Saarinen, Gesellius and Lindgren around the turn of the century. Similarly to Kós and Zrumeczky's later efforts, these Finnish architects also found the source of a new national architecture in the periphery, in the Karelia region. The shapes and structures found in folk architecture play a crucial role in the designs for the zoo buildings. The pavilions testify to how the architects used the basic forms of folk architecture rather than making use of the inherently decorative nature of folk art. It is this tendency that sets apart the works of Kós and Zrumeczky from the more general processes of contemporary Hungarian and European architecture. Architecture reflecting scientific (zoological) principles The new zoo was modern and progressive not only in its architectural style, but was state of the art in terms of zoological practice as well. According to Hagenbeck's new invention, giving animals freedom was all the rage at the time, so they were presented in a more natural setting, in kennels surrounded by moats and rocks rather than in cages and behind bars. During their study trip to Western Europe, Kós and Zrumeczky decided to follow the example of the Hamburg-Stellingen zoo, with its practical, simple and cheap buildings, as opposed to the vast palaces of the Berlin Tiergarten. The final designs for the zoo were completed by early 1909, and they were submitted for approval along with the plans of the first buildings. The overall plan included the floor plan of the whole zoo, the detailed description of the natural features to be added, the rocks and the lake as well as the spots designated for each pavilion. This aspect of the design work was carried out mainly by town engineer Gyula Végh. There were a few minor changes made on the original plans, but nothing substantial. The arrangement of the buildings reflected the taxonomic relations of the animals on display. First to be placed were the large mammals that needed the most room. Second, places were assigned in the territory bordered by the railway line, the lake and Dózsa György street. As for keeping the birds, the idea was to place all of them either in one of the two larger and two smaller bird houses, or in a chicken run. The Pheasant house was modelled after its Berlin counterpart, where a long, not very tall building is complemented by a set of courtyards covered with nets. There was a separate house built for smaller birds and parrots, with a high, domed volier at one end for medium sized birds. There were plans for another high transparent iron-framed tower for large eagles opposite the junction where Podmaniczky street meets Dózsa György street, to function as a kind of living advertisement for the zoo, but this project was eventually abandoned. Behind it there was the Ostrich House ‘in Egyptian Style! with its large poultry runs. H The Bird House FÁNK fotógyűjtemény H Hippo, with the Bison House behind, after 1912 FÁNK fotógyűjtemény H The Squirrel House Magyar Építőművészet, 1912.11-12. A. Pál Veres H Left The Bird House from the terrace of the Crocodile House László Alapfy 87
