This design for the new City Hall complex for Budapest combines the restoration of the existing, but never completed 18th century baroque building with new, futuristic wings to create a contemporary Forum. It integrates the site into the existing 19th century city fabric by mirroring the mixture of functions that characterized urban planning of that time. Once completed, the City Hall complex will act as a micro-city, offering virtually every city function and revitalizing the entire area.
The Cultural Forum is strategically located in the centre of the complex and offers a broad program, incorporating a multifunctional area which can host conferences, exhibitions, concerts and theatre performances. Retail, cafés, restaurants and a boutique hotel are included in the project, integrating it into the surrounding existing facilities. Traffic through the Forum is stimulated as pedestrian flow from the boulevard to the Danube river will be re-opened. The historic and contemporary baroque of the existing building and new extension complement and emphasize each other, connecting the past and the future and ensuring the relationship with the surrounding townscape.

The central location of the Forum on top of the metro line and the large scale integration of functions result in minimal need for additional transport, relieving the city’s road system and limiting carbon emission. But more importantly, only a small part of the complex will be newly built, meaning that the existing monument will largely be conserved, renovated and recycled, considerably prolonging its lifespan.