ZDA architects

How do you make an infamous part of a capital praised and vibrant with cultural life? Build a huge cultural centre right in the middle of the problematic area and the whole place is going to change. The recipe comes from other European cities and Budapest executed this plan perfectly with the Palace of Arts, now known as Mupa. This area had a bad reputation because of drug trafficking, violent crimes and other illegal activities. The plan was to deal with all the problems at once. Since then this part of Budapest is well-known for the Palace of Arts, for the National Theatre and many high-profile office buildings, as well as brand new housing projects. 

This series shows one of the biggest cultural building of its kind in Central Europe.

This was a dream project for me as no one ever took the time to take interior photographs in the best possible light. I really tried to capture its essence, many times planning and chasing the best light that show how architecture interacts with light. The long aisles have the greatest light in the very early morning, while the spacious audience area gets the amazing sunset light in the golden hour.

This place is very special because of its amazing acoustics, that can be altered via a special 3 part canopy, made of 50 tons of wood, hanged above the stage area. At the back of the stage there’s a spectacular concert organ that is the largest in Europe.

To be able to see the most amazing light that creates long golden lines inside, you have to have almost completely clear sky, and a bit of planning, because the magic only there for a few minutes, before the hills on the Buda side of the city block the sun.

The design offers many kind of hidden places, that are not that obvious as the open audience area, but worth exploring because of the exceptional beauty.