Prékopa Ágnes (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 29. (Budapest, 2013)

Imre TAKÁCS: The Upgrade Programme for the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts

and exhibition. There must be many more in private ownership and hiding in the suc­cessors of old manufacturing companies. Finding these and entering them into the museum’s collection will, in the coming years, give a vigorous boost to the whole initiative and of course will rescue valuable art works from loss or destruction. Through this research and collecting work, we could increase the collection several fold within a few years and establish a permanent and ef­fective base for researching and displaying Hungarian design history and current de­sign output. IV. The architectural plan The conditions of the international compe­tition launched in May 2012 set a complex task for the architects. First of all, they had to find a way of rescuing and restoring the architecture of the Lechner building before it decayed any further. Almost as impor­tant was the need to render the old building capable of today’s museum functions. A building which - as was foreseen in 1897 - is more of a standalone work of art than an architectural framework for exhibitions will require some subtle interior transfor­mation before it acquires these new and es­sential capabilities. It must be a place which catalyses the public’s encounter with art works. It must allow exhibitions to be studied in depth, but also leave visitors with good memories and the feeling that the time they spent in the museum was pleas­ant as well as useful. The decision to com­plete the back corner, left out of the con­struction in 1896, stemmed from need to increase exhibition space and accommodate the idea of a design museum. On this nar­row plot of land, looking on to a side street, a new building will accommodate the ma­chinery of modern operation, the transport end-points, the terminal, handling areas and temporary stores for transporting art works. This will relieve the Lechner build­ing of service and administrative burdens and the confusion of work-rounds that are such a serious part of the museum’s current problems. At the same time, the upper sto­reys of the new wing clearly suggested themselves as the location for prestigious exhibition spaces with utterly uncon­strained museological opportunities. So we were looking for an office and machine room, but much more besides. As we formulated the requirements, it became increasingly clear that there could be no symbolic return to the past. Recon­struction of a historic building only makes sense as a forward-looking development, and must fit into a new and modern con­struction. The competition requirements therefore dictated that the new wing should not in any way imitate Ödön Lechner’s in­ventive style, and should take no account of the detailed hundred and ten year-old plan for the site. Instead, it should complement Lechner’s work with the forms and tech­niques of modern architecture. Assessment of the 32 valid entries to the international architectural competition was completed in August 2012. The jury award­ed first prize to Vikár and Lukács Archi­tects, who signed a contract to produce the permission plans that autumn. These have 19

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