Széll Kálmán square - Public space developement

Through half a century functional changes the Szell Kalman square slowly transformed to a traffic inter-change node and became ’Buda’s Main square’, as one of the busiest public spaces of Budapest.

The primary concept is to ’revive’ the square and to create an accessible, visually open space, which has the capacity to cope with a daily traffic of 200.000 (!) people, while at the same time balance the traffic interchange and the ’Agora’ functions. As landscape Architects, we faced a big challenge to find the right tool which can soften the heavily built environment and present a situation which can reveal the quality of the vegetation despite dense traffic.

The image of the square was formed not only by the new architecture, but also by the idea of ’all-direction’ pedestrian movement. As a result, the appearance of the square, the layout of the pavement and the design of the “waiting rooms” all reflect the pattern of the pedestrian movement. Perhaps with a complex design based on a wider context, one could result in a more efficient solution, however our team was looking for the best possible design, which is in line with the budget and the description of the brief.

Authors: Landscapearchitect: Lépték-terv Ltd. Arcitecture: Építész Stúdió General designer: Főmterv Zrt.
Photo Credit: Szell Kalman, Gergely Kenéz
Country: Hungary