Case study
Erzsébet Square, Budapest
Project data
Project name: Erzsébet Tér urban open space
Location: Erzsébet Square, Budapest, 5th district
Date completed: 2002
Cost: 300,000,000 HuF (€1,186,245)
Area: 7,615m^2
Landscape architects: Péter István Balogh, Zsuzsanna Bogner, Tamás Sándor,
Sándor Garden Design Ltd, Firka Architect Studio Ltd,
András Bánfalvy, István Bikki, András Boór, Dénes Halmai
Architects: Firka Architect Studio Ltd, Boór and Kern Deposit Company
Client: Ministry for National Cultural Heritage
Overview
The Erzsébet Tér is a vivid, multi-functional open space in the heart of Budapest city centre. It forms part
of an ambitious renewal project, intended to increase the quality of urban life through the provision of
new facilities for entertainment, recreation and the appreciation of culture. The development includes
underground facilities, including a 700m^2 concert hall and conference room, an 800m^2 commercial area,
a 450m^2 restaurant and a car park for 140 vehicles. Up to 800 people can use the underground facilities
at any one time. The new urban space is technically a roof garden, designed to provide a calming envi-
ronment with water and vegetation within a dense urban environment. Despite the intensive pedestrian
traffic in this central location, it has been possible to safeguard 70 per cent of the total area of the square
for water features and soft landscape.