Gerle János: Palaces of Money - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1994)

Section of the restored facade above the entrance

teristic of his entire philosophy of architecture, combined the two structures in such a manner that the resulting dome should fulfil the functions of protection and support and satisfy aesthetic requirements at the same time. The hexagonal, single-layer domed roofing, which was made of hollow glass bricks, allowed external light directly in through the glittering glass lamellae.

The other masterstroke which places Lechner among the pioneers of modern architecture is the complete simplicity of the facade, the way in which it is treated as a plane composition. After the rejection of historical forms, this became one of the major issues with which architects concerned themselves. They had to find a medium carrying a message to fill the "void” that remained in the place of traditional ornamental features. (In a decade’s time the void was filled by pointless decoration and by an approach which saw emptiness as a virtue.) Otto Wagner’s famous Vienna “majolica-house", which was built at the same time as the Postal Savings Bank in Budapest, is covered by ceramic plates in the manner of a huge carpet with floral patterns, and its windows look like so many holes cut in the carpet. This closest and most significant equivalent well illustrates Lechner’s different way of thinking. To him the filling of the void is not a matter of aesthetics but a means, which does not ignore aesthetics, but is mainly meant to convey his most important message.

Each of his three major works, together with a few more unrealised designs, involves a public institution where it is a primary objective to emphasise the national

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