Hungary
this area can be used as an agora, which, because
of its sunken level and orientation, can host noisy
events without disturbing the calm quality of life
above.Essentially, the whole of this new urban space is
a roof garden, with the thickness of soil required
varying in accordance with the design. One of the
planning conditions placed upon the site was that
there should be a depth of 2m of soil over 25 per
cent of the site to accommodate larger trees. This
requirement, along with the need to deal with the
evidence of the pre-existing concrete structure,
suited the designers’ purposes well. A corrugated
cover slab provides an elevated garden, sheltered
from the busy boulevard by densely planted raised
beds. The raised level of the surface was also of
benefit to the architectural design, since the height
of the rooms below could be increased.The architectural elements keep a low profile for
the sake of a harmonious view. Stairs leading to the
underground car park, elevators and airshafts were
placed in elegant glass buildings with good propor-
tions, in order to emphasise the new pedestrian
axes between Deák Square and the Basilica. The
form of the glass cuboids responds to the modern
design of the former bus terminal building. The
materials, the variations of sandblasted and smooth
plate-glass, reflect today’s architectural possibili-ties. Pergolas, similar in construction and materials,
enclose the row of glass buildings, and run at right
angles to the promenade, opening a transverse walk
towards the pier. There is an alley of Gleditschia tria-
canthos’Shademaster’ along the promenade. Their
foliage provides an intense background to the glass
buildings and creates a green wall parallel to the
face of the terminal building.József Attila Street is an extremely busy main road
connecting Buda with the city centre via the Chain
Bridge. The pavement is really only suitable for fast
walkers, but people are offered the opportunity to
turn into the park and use the inner promenade
instead. For the purpose of preserving the calm-
ness of Erzsébet Square, it was necessary to close
off the length of József Attila Street, with a long
glass moulded construction, which offers natural
lighting for the underground car park and protects
the park from the heavy noise at the same time.
This has been sandblasted with a design that
records significant dates in the long history of
Erzsébet Square.^4 The pavement at József Attila
Street, parallel to this glass screen, is closed off
with a short alley of six columnar maple trees (Acer
platanoides ‘Emerald Queen’). The public utilities
running beneath restricted the opportunities for
planting in this location.5.17
Foyer of the ‘Hole’ leading to the conference and
exhibition hall
5.18
View of the pool from József Attila Street