The architect of the Bedö House was Emil VIDOR (1903). The palace (apartment house) of the art collector, Béla BEDÖ is an elegant example of French taste and was built behind surrounding conservative, or Vienna-style buildings. To the varied and lively, playful facade reminiscent of French and Belgian Art Nouveau, Vidor added the well-balances Jugendstil elements of Munich - such as the horizontal stripes on the plaster facade and the ceramic figures on the top of the balconies. The use of split levels is unusual in city buildings and harmonious organisations of the various decorative elements and building materials prove Vidor's unbelievable designing and constructing abilities. The stain-glassed windows of the staircase that have remained intact are especially valuable, as are the protected interior decorations and the sole survivor of the original three wrought-iron shop front. (Source: Budapest Architectural guide - 20th century, 6Bt, 1997)

Its ground-floor is today the home of The House of Hungarian Art Nouveau where a permanent exhibition and a café is to be found.

www.magyarszecessziohaza.hu

© Papp Tímea, KÖH

Designed by Dezso ZRUMECZKY, the school was built over a two year period (1911-1912).
It was built in the last peaceful years before WWI, and so was the Városmajor Utcai Primary School, designed by Károly KÓS, the leader of this turn of the century movement using folk elements, to which Zrumeczky belonged as well.
Specific attention was paid to the design of certain common spaces and the ergonomics of school equipment and furnishings including the playground, students' desks, retractable chalk boards, and teachers' desks.
The first classes started on September 7, 1912 in 16 classrooms, the facilities included a gymnasium, a staff room, a medical office and dispensary, a three-room nursery, as well as residences for the principal, janitor and nursery attendant.
During WWI it served as a military hospital, and during WWII, bombs destroyed the whole west wing. After extensive internal and external renovations, the building has regained its original character. Modifications included the construction of a stage, an inner load-bearing wall and the replacement of the original wood fence with a metal one.
Modernization efforts in the 1990's included the construction of dining rooms for students and teachers, upgrading the heating systems, electrical wiring and building insulation. The most extensive renovation occurred in 1995 when the lower and upper schools merged. As a result of the expansion, five new classrooms, a library, a weights room, physics and chemistry preparatory rooms and laboratories and studios were added.
We are very fond of our school and guard it zealously, as a safe harbour for those who come here to be guided and enlightened. The quaint architecture that houses the most modern facilities is a reminder of the importance of our heritage as we forge into the future, espousing new ideas, rediscovering traditional ones, while fostering the talents of all who work and play here.

www.aldassuli.gportal.hu

© Hack Róbert, KÖH

The building is the master-work of Béla LAJTA´s early career (1908), illustrating the unity between Northern-European tradition and the Hungarian search for National Architecture based upon vernacular traditions. Biblical quotations set amongst folk art motives are carved on the wooden entrance gate, making them accessible to blind children. The gates, gate-rails, terrazzo-facings, carved wooden roof details preserve the architect´s special decorative style. The homogeneous brick-facing allows the integration of symmetrical and asymmetrical elements within one monumental unity. The entrance is a parabolic arch, a motif repeated in certain of the windows. Use of this motif was widespread throughout Scandinavia and in Hungary. (Source: Budapest Architectural guide - 20th century, 6Bt, 1997)

Today it is the Center for Children and Young People with Disabilities.

www.mozgasjavito.hu

© Bartha Levente

Sándor BAUMGARTEN, as architect of the Cultural Ministry, designed and built hundreds of school buildings throughout the country. Following his collaboration with Ödön LECHNER, Baumgarten carried out projects in the manner of his master, using sinuous and decorative brick columns and divisions.
Consequently Baumgarten became the most prolific adherent and propagator of Lechner´s architectural style. Among his most significant buildings in Budapest is the School for the Blinds (1899-1904), which represents a transition between Neo-Gothic architecture and Lechner´s style. The interior design, especially the assembly hall and its stained-glass windows which numbers amonst the largest continuous painted glass surfaces in Hungary, are certainly worth a closer look. (Source: Budapest Architectural guide - 20th century, 6Bt, 1997)

www.vakisk.hu

© Papp Tímea, KÖH