Lonyay 26 is a historical building in the Budapest city center. For this iconic building born in the late 1830s, our renovation proposal confirms and enhances the complex’s residential vocation, creating modern and flexible apartments enclosed in high-quality architecture, paying attention to the historical value of the building and its surroundings. The apartment units vary in sizes and share a rational internal circulation system. The apartments are oriented to the internal courts and equipped with private open spaces and terraces.
The local laws allow important enlargements for Lonyay 26. New volumes are added to the complex that now reaches eight levels above ground and a new architecture is required in dialogue with the historical parts. Since new additions must reach the maximum architectural quality while controlling the costs, prefabricated construction is considered the best answer.
For this project, we chose to maintain and restore almost the entire existing building and the original façade on Lonyay Street. New volumes are created around the courts starting from the new wing of the main façade. The new front on Lonyay Street rises up to 24 metres, enhancing the symmetry and the rhythm of the openings, and using contemporary language and materials.
The complex is given an urban character thanks to the interconnected inner courtyards which open further and become a new potential public space that creates a direct passage to the banks of Danube. A new passage is opened at the back of the inner courtyards, foreseeing new possibilities for the complex and for the surrounding area in terms of use and functions.
All new interventions must improve the quality of everyday life through the presence of gardens and green areas. The project envisions "three qualities of garden": the two large courts are transformed into a geometric public green square and a garden with casual and natural greenery. An intimate garden with a pergola is created to guarantee an open and improved view to the adjacent building in the back of the plot.
Once filled with soil in the late XIX Century, when a severe flooding hit the area, the complex underground was completely reused and enlarged by digging under the inner courtyard. Two one-way ramps give access to the garage while maintaining the vehicular circulation of Lonyay Street. A total of 101 parking spaces are created thanks to the use of a compact and space saving system for car storage.
The roof that separates the two internal courtyards hosts a translucent addition: a new dynamic volume with direct access from the ground level, preserving the local tradition of rooftop lounges.
