The building used to give home to the Hungarian State Hunting Agency back in the Communist days, and some Hungarian elders may remember the typical big and tall German hunters in their green clothing, funny hunting hats and deerhorns, standing in line to get in for their papers to be approved for hunting. But now, a four-star, Baroque-style boutique hotel is to soon open in its place, which is being built by the Mellow Mood Group.
The interior design office of Kazimír Medveczky was entrusted with the design and interior design of the Buda Castle Hotel, which opens in the summer.
The three-storey building was in fact a combination of two adjacent buildings. The sophisticated architecture of the former Baroque palace, once seen in better days, immediately captivated the architect’s imagination. It needs a sophisticated interior, but not too ostentatious, but at home, decided the motto of his work.
The message of the past is today
Although the structure of the building gave itself away, with a bold touch, the designer preferred to use modern, contemporary materials and forms. He primarily sought (and found) objects that rhyme with the Baroque, but not the avid, suggestive ornate forms, but rather classically elegant in its mood.
The era of the Baroque style, as the designer explains, has dragged on in Hungary, and as we usually get used to in other areas, he came to us later than anywhere else, but the more hospitable we were. Although the original features of the building are only traces – since the walls were destroyed by fire in the 1940s – the charm of the space has been preserved, and this has been used extensively by the architect. In some places he used art decos elements, in others he used sophisticated materials – calcareous oak ceilings, bleached furniture.
Yin and Yang
The furnishings of the 24 rooms, due to their location, are different everywhere, and actually respond to each other: where one is dark, the other is bright, but many skins (resembling iguana cover) and wood are echoing everywhere. The vaulted ground floor and basement spaces offer a solid elegance with their pastel colors and the use of bolder complementary colors and sophisticated furnishings – Italian, leather.
Just as in the Tao philosophy, twin energy is intertwined, thus ensuring the balance of the universe – though the designer emphasizes it was of course not the case – but here, colors, shapes and materials add to the complementary harmony. Therefore, the designer did not use strong accent colors and used the play of interiors, colors, natural and artificial lights.
Cosmopolitan world
The 60-70 centimetre thick walls, a building reminiscent of what was once an Italian bourgeois milieu (because, next door, Uri Street, which was called the Italian Street in the Middle Ages), all predicted the cosmopolitan world, to create a special world of finger-like connectivity. However, in every aspect of restraint, it defines the building: subtle lines, decent curves, aesthetics, natural beauty and baroque styling – it creates a real Castle jewel.
Ágnes Vágó
Guest and Hotel: April 2008
