Bálna Budapest

Budapest, Hungary

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Other Projects by ONL [Oosterhuis_Lénárd]

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Bálna Budapest

Budapest, Hungary

Firm

ONL [Oosterhuis_Lénárd]

Type

Commercial › Retail
Cultural › Cultural Center

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2012

SIZE

100,000 sqft - 300,000 sqft

Bálna (formaly known as CET / Central European Time. Bálna is also a synonym for a whale. The Mixed Use Development Bálna at the Közraktárak between the Petofi and the Szabadság Bridge is both. The Bálna concept refers to Budapest as an important metropolitan centre in the heart of Central Europe. The Bálna shape refers to the smooth and friendly streamlined body of a whale. The new Bálna development has the potential to put Budapest once again on the map of the world. Name and shape of the Bálna symbolizes its cultural potential and commercial pole position in one of the best preserved cities in the world.

Flow. The river Danube fascinates in Budapest for its fast flow on its trajectory downward from the Schwarzwald to the Black Sea. While the Danube both separates and unites Buda and Pest, the Bálna aims at re-establishing visual contact at this point between the two sides of the river. Newly planned inviting terraces will visually open the once hermetic Közraktárak to the University and the Gellért Hotel. Hopefully a watertaxi system will be re-introduced to create direct connections for the people between the two sides as well. The body of the Bálna landmark building is developed along the flow of the Danube. Its architectural and urban expression evolves with the direction of the flow. The Bálna's origin stems from the side of the city centre, grows in size between the two parallel existing buildings of the Közraktárak and then culminates at the south side, the side of the National Theatre and the new Cultural Centre, in a striking landmark building representing the state-of-the-art in architectural design and building technology, its impact on the city will be not unlike the removed Elevator Building from the 19th Century from where the goods were distributed to the 6 warehouses which originally occupied the banks of the Danube.