Armuth Miklós - Lőrinczi Zsuzsa (szerk.): A Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem Történeti Campusa (Budapest, 2023)
A Kémiai épület - The Chemistry Building Kalmár Miklós
GELLÉRT TÉR FELÖLI NÉZET A 2013-AS FELÚJÍTÁS UTÁN VIEW FROM THE GELLÉRT SQUARE AFTER THE RENOVATION IN 2013 7 á of Rubber and Plastic Industries, Organic Chemistry and Agricultural Chemistry Technology, the basement housed those of the Departments of General and Analytical Chemistry, Agricul? tural Chemistry Technology, Organic ChemistryTechnology and Inorganic Chemistry, the ground O p floor the Departments of General and Analytical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry and m Chemistry Chemistry as well as rooms shared and used by other departments of the faculty. £ The first storey contained the Departments of General and Analytical Chemistry, Organic * Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry. Apparently, the staff-rooms and the rooms of research labo-Í ratories were disintegrated in the highest degree. The second floor featured the Departments of u Organic Chemistry, Agricultural ChemistryTechnology and Generaland Analytical Chemistry, the x loft contained the Departments of Organic Chemistry and Agricultural ChemistryTechnology, as well as Chemistry Information Technology. The original distribution of rooms separating departments to be housed on each storey proved to be unmaintainable later on. Almost every year further revisions were necessitated affecting the interiors, which did not only follow the evolution of technology, but also reflected the ever-changing demand for rooms forthe purposes of science and education. The rooms of the departments were scattered as a rule. The site which had been once plentiful, although professors found it tight even then, was now overcrowded. Both tunnels of the underground line No. 4 of Budapest pass beneath the building, and a 45 m long part of the station at Gellért Square even reaches beneath it. When drilling the tunnels and constructing the underground station, the facade of the building overlooking the Danube sunk appr. 60 mm, causing cracks of various sizes all over the wall structure. Serious damage was done to the faceworks, doors and windows, as well as engineering equipment. After the completion of the tunnels and the underground station, the building stopped sinking, and the sum received from the insurance companies for damage was used to cover the costs needed to launch large-scale reconstructions. On these occasions the engineering and electric systems and wires damaged beneath the basement seating were replaced whilst constructing public utilities to facilitate the monitoring and maintenance of the systems. The trusses of the deep cellar were reinforced, the grand staircase, the main staircase leading to C14, the CU auditorium and the basement laboratories were restored. At the end of 2013 the main facade overlooking Gellért Square had been renovated.
