Armuth Miklós - Lőrinczi Zsuzsa (szerk.): A Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem Történeti Campusa (Budapest, 2023)
A Könyvtár épülete - The Library Building Gy. Balogh Ágnes
1 3 2 The original scheme of the university to be built in Lágymányos still featured the library rooms as parts of the Central Building. This solution, however, proved impractical for various reasons, concerning utility, fire-safety and development as well. This is why Győző Czigler already conceived it as an independent building in his layout scheme. Designed by Pecz, the library as a free-standing T-shape structure was aligned with the symmetry axis of the Central Building - which is exactly where Győző Czigler had already meant it to be built in his own concept. The main entrance opens from the side facing the courtyard, just beneath the "Bridge of Sighs": designed by Pecz himself, the latter is a closed access corridor at the height of the mezzanine to connect the Library and the Central Building. The articulation of the building meets the classical criteria set up for libraries since Leopoldo Della Santa. Pecz ingeniously and completely separated the zones serving the triple functions of library activities - cataloguing, storage and reading. The wellarticulated contours of the building allowed for optimal light conditions in every room. Meeting contemporary expectations, the design integrated Romanesque and Gothic details on a building eclectic in style, whilst the exterior and interior design of the Library evoked those of sacred places. Samu Pecz finished the first plans of the library building in November and December, 1905. Drawings, sections and elevations were drawn in a 1:100 scale on paper in ink bearing this notice: "The construction of the Royal Joseph Technical University. Library Building". Details of the facade and cornices (scale 1AO and 1:10 respectively] dated from March, 1907. At the meeting of the construction committee of the University of Technology on March 15th, 1907 the Ministry's university department criticised the plan of the library saying it was unbalanced, and the main rooms were not prioritized enough. Hauszmann and Pecz argued in favour of the scheme. At another session on June 22nd, Pecz announced that he had designed the store's supports to be massive enough to bear another six levels in case of further addition, which means what he had in mind was a 12-level tower store suited to accommodate 500.000 volumes. Owing to inefficient financial means, this time only half of this store would have been built then, and the construction of the complete structure was postponed until some decades later. A SÓHAJOK HÍDJÁNAK RÉSZLETRAJZAI, 1908 DETAILS OF THE FACADE OF THE "BRIDGE OF SIGHS". 1908
