Museum of Ethnography
Type: Public – Cultural
Scale: 23000 sqm
This project was developed within the urban fabric of Budapest based on the core idea that the city is no longer composed of discrete buildings, but is a continuous space. The Museum of Ethnography preserves this continuity, inviting the public to engage with the museum itself.
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We frame people to create “Living Sculptures” and build platforms so that those standing on them momentarily become works of art. By their presence, visitors not only observe the internal events but simultaneously transform into the object of the museum.
The geometry of the museum’s form is defined by two layers—urban and historical: the ground-floor voids are shaped according to urban lines, while the roof geometry is oriented toward three significant neighboring monuments (Buda Castle, Heroes’ Square, and Vajdahunyad Castle). The central void (event halls) is formed at the intersection of the ground-level layer and the roof.
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Unlike conventional projects, the Budapest Museum dissolves the boundary between inside and outside. By carving the building mass at the ground level, an urban public plaza is formed. Furthermore, the creation of another plaza on the roof amplifies public interaction. In this way, the museum not only avoids subtracting from the urban area but adds more public space by creating social events at different levels.
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Considering the project’s location within the buffer zone of a UNESCO World Heritage site, the building is set back from the street, creating a visible gap to establish distance from this edge. This boundary separates the street frontage from the structure, allowing light and natural ventilation to penetrate the underground event hall through strategic openings.
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HAJIZADEHs
Architecture: Kourosh Hajizadeh – Amir Hossein Hajizadeh – Hesam Alavi – Arash Shabahang – Sepideh Farnia – Mohammad Kalhori – Behrooz Tahanzadeh – Payam Salehinejad
Visualization: Emad Kashfi
Model: Sobhan Hojjati – Mojgan Sanieenejad – Neshat Mirsaeidi – Paria Abrishami
Model Photos: Amir Hossein Hajizadeh
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Prize: Finalist of The Competition
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Date: 2014
