Complex, Budapest

At first glance the realization by architect György Fazakas, in collaboration with the office of French architect Jean-Paul Viguier, does not appear to differ substantially from the original 2003 design. It is a fully glazed building with a diamond facade structure and finely detailed rounded corners on the side facing the square. Even the subtle cant of the dual facade survived the usual mid-process cost cutting.

There is one significant change, however, and that is the relation between the building and Vörösmarty Square. The original design proposed a publicly accessible atrium opening onto the pedestrianized square. In the interim, market forces have done their work and the atrium no longer starts at ground floor level but on the first floor. The expensive street-level floor space has been leased to high-end fashion chains. The atrium, though still open to the public, is reached via narrow corridors from where two not immediately obvious escalators carry visitors to the upper floor.

Another new element vis à vis the original design is the free-form pavilion in the atrium. It will be fitted out as a coffee bar, turning a large part of the atrium floor into a pavement café. Around the four-storey atrium are three floors of office space. The building is topped by two floors containing eight luxury penthouses with generous, partly covered terraces. The wait now is for the terraces to be decked out with the proposed greenery, for when that is done the crown of the building known popularly as 'the net stocking' will exude a greater sense of liveliness.