An artist building further …
Tamás Karácsony, architect
MúzeumCafé 14.
The Ybl prize-winning architect, Tamás Karácsony, in designing the new extension for the Museum of Fine Arts, had no intention of abandoning customs and so his plans allow for visitors to enter the space under the vestibule and the original entrance by cutting into the main stairs. Karácsony, who is from the town of Esztergom, was surprised at winning the tender, since he would have liked to remain a quiet participant of the bid. However, decision-makers were convinced by his special method of working, his outstanding, individual solutions from both architectural and functional aspects, and his inspiring diary-like proposal. “The description does not specify exactly whether Lilike with her school group sets off for the old museum building or the temporary exhibition space when she goes to view the art work of the month. I chose the name Lilike because it’s short and it sounds kind and cheerful. My daughter knew a student at university with that name. In addition, I’ve always envied those who had the time to nicely compose and put down their daily experiences. I’ve wanted to do that for ages, but never got round to it. So I thought I’d try to create stories as if for a subsequently written diary. “Unlike the present, familiar situation the project involves the removal of the point of arrival and reception to the new vestibule. In vain will the old main entrance beckon you, it cannot let you in, though it will remain as a possibility. The old doors can open from time to time whenever a given event requires. We were basically aiming to locate the new entrance near the present one, since the portico is a natural location for entry and it would have been strange if we immediately abandoned that possibility. The response was to tilt the stairs and from that moment on we are very close to the present entrance. You reach a mid-way world that connects the new with the old by practically walking on the original stairs. “I don’t think that ‘undoing’ the stairs in our plan is an excessively intense, difficult or avant-garde gesture. Two cuts are made and a few millimetres of the stairs will go to dust along the cut but the stone remains, thus the original condition can be reinstated at any time. If you look at the intervention as being a non-fatal one the design immediately seems far more conceivable. “We’d like visitors to know who their host is in the new building from the moment they enter. As you walk around the new space the visual contact with the old Museum of Fine Arts will be almost continuous. In addition, two new entrances open up from the sides, in Állatkert Avenue and Dózsa György Road. We would have liked the glass cube entrance to be in the ‘neutral corner’, far away from the building. What must be decided is whether this construction should take on an everyday role or perhaps provide information on its surface, or – much rather – it realises its own potential. “I was surprised to be invited because this commission is far bigger in size than what I could have ever expected. It’s a strange business. I think competition is what essentially excites an architect. At such a time you have the chance to compare yourself, or I’d rather say place yourself among your colleagues. Anyway, when the invitation came I was surprised and asked for some time to think because the Museum of Fine Arts is at a very prestigious location. As you know, I am an architect from the provinces. “We first began by looking at the whole square – what the extension presents for Heroes’ Square and whether the architectural mark we are going to make should appear in other parts of the square, since there was an indication of that among the suggestions. It inevitably began to excite me how I would be influenced by certain aspects, which have been left out of the design, but may become important, meaning the traffic and freeing the square of it, or the potential of continuing the construction. We also thought about what space linking the Kunsthalle and the Museum of Fine Arts could be created. “There is an intelligent and functional division of labour between Zsolt Szécsi, István Mányi and myself. Each of us has his own role, his musical instrument if you like, but we think about everything together so that the orchestra would play well. In this situation I can only admire those who entered for the tender. They also must have thought over the whole thing and they also had their hands tied in making their decisions. But I assume they decided well when they made up their mind to participate, thinking jointly and giving their names to it. I believe we can clearly talk about a process which produces value independently of which design was given the chance to step further. “The next two months will be about composing the scores for the building and, accordingly, building contractors will say how much they require for performing the music. We have only agreed to creating the score, which is a small part of the whole. It is the project management which sees through the entire process. I seem to remember that the moment when it will become clear for a layperson that something is beginning will come in early spring. For example, it will be quite striking when the building area is fenced off.”