Szablyár Péter: Sky-high - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2007)
■ Pictorial plan oh the high-riieó on the Danube bank tower standing on a square base as the central block of the complex. The trans- ferral of the plans, further developed in 1942, from the drawing board to the construction site was prevented by World War II, which eventually resulted in the permanent removal from Budapest's agenda the building of any skyscrapers. The idea of constructing high-rises captured the imagination of city planners and architects in charge of post-war reconstruction. The appearance of innovative technologies and the urge to put their potentials to the test kept rekindling debates about the issue. In November of 1953, a conference was called on the topical issues of urban architecture in Budapest, where the question of high-rises provoked a heated argument. Pál Granasztói described the argument as futile until the function of these buildings was clearly determined. János Brenner took a firm stand against high-rises arguing that there were already enough distinguished buildings (the Parliament or the Basilica) and natural formations (the Castle Hill, Gellért Hill) in Budapest. László Málnai challenged Granasztói. "I don't think," he said "that designing high- rises is a self-indulgence with no other purpose than having high-rises for their own sake. What we mean by them is to ease the tedium, the barrenness forced on the city by the 1914 regulations prescribing heights and types of design.” Imre Perényi was also in favour of high-rises, supporting his argument by citing Soviet urban planning as a worthy example. "Unlike others speaking before me, 1 find it desirable,” he said, submitting the argument "that the currently uniform skyline of the Pest area be redesigned by accentuating certain points of urban importance. This can be achieved through the insertion of high-rises in the appropriate locations in accordance with Soviet models of urban planning." The economic situation of the capital city and the urban restoration following the devastations of 1956 precluded the implementation of costly architectural ideas. In spite of that - as a token of consolidation in a series of balancing acts — 13
