The new House of Hungarian Music will be the only building standing alone inside the park of the new museum complex making it the major attraction after the Ludwig Museum of the city park.
The shape of our proposition for the House of Hungarian Music takes into consideration the new axis that goes from the 1956 Memorial Square to the Petofi Event Center that will recentralize the axis of the park to the same position as it was in 1813.
The House ofHungarian Music will represent the new center of distribution through the park where the shape of the circle is used to redistribute the entire flux through the park.
By creating a central circular junctionin the park, we will redistribute its internal circulation. The shape will facilitate the circulation from and to the new museum complex and to the existing services in the Liget Park.
Our proposal for the new House of Hungarian Music focuses on creating a landmark for the park whilst respecting its environment. In order to fulfill this, our proposition plans to conserve 95% of the existing trees selected by their health and age. The remaining 5% will be moved inside the non-constructible area near the Lakeside.
The structure will be formed by a series of parallel blades orientated perpendicularly to the new axis in order to allow permeability towards the lake. These structural elements will allow the trees to easily grow in between them.
The beams represented as blades will project themselves over the top of the smaller trees included in the site, whereas on the taller trees the blades will pass under them where the trunk will be the only part left apparent.
The structure of the New House of Hungarian Music is conceived resembling a pentagram with a 4/4 time signature with 5 staff lines and 4 intervening spaces in which the top and bottom lines will become a structural element of the building.
The idea of giving a Rhythmical structure similar to a pentagram was chosen because the blank sheet that represents the composition of music reflects the trees and the notes will be represented by the exposition windows that may be moved to create different circulations in the exposition spaces.
Walking along the new axis towards the Ludwig Museum the House of the Hungarian Music will appear on the left through the treetops. The more we approach the entrance, the more the vertical blades will dilate on our perspective showing the entrance to the Pergola.
Once entered the external circle the visitors will find themselves under a covered space where the tree trunks will appear from under the structural beams of the Pergola. This space is positioned in the main axe between the new axis and the lake seaside. From here we are dispatched to the book gift shop as well at the bar and the Hall. This space is conceived as a filter community space where people can discuss the quality of the performance and expositions. It will host the arrival of the bus groups that can wait under the shade of the trees before entering the museum spaces
The hall is an 18 m tall volume in which trees grow free from holes in the floor. The glazed roof will give the impression of being in an open sky area. This space will serve all the rest of the museum program spaces from two main distribution points.
The permanent exhibition will host the HHM collection. It is conceived to be a flexible space in which the windows can be moved to sub-divide the exposition in different smaller rooms or larger areas. This space will also be provided with special ceilings that will create a sound experience path.
From the Hall the visitors will have access to an escalator that will bring them to the temporary exhibition. The exposition is divided in macro and micro spaces positioned in between the treetops the bigger spaces will allow a certain flexibility depending on the current exhibition present at the time. The smaller rooms may host different acoustic experiences or installations. Walking through one closed element to another of the temporary exhibition, the visitor will be obliged to pass through glazed corridors which will let them appreciate a promenade in between the treetops.
The Concert hall is conceived as a cocoon seen from the inside producing a continuous series of wood reflectors that propagate sound homogenously through the entire shoebox concert hall. The bottom of the hall will be treated with phonic absorbent to remove sound reverberation. The stage is positioned underground to allow a central entrance that communicates directly with the hall’s ground level.
The sound dome will be positioned in front of the entrance of the concert hall. Its wooden structure will seem carved directly from the blades giving the impression of continuity between the exterior and the interior. The dome itself will be translucent letting the structure appear in the background. A projector will display video installations on its half spherical surface in order to emphasize experiences within oneself
The Lecture Hall situated in direct contact with the Hall may count up to 230 seats. Due to the different activities it may hold, the treatment of the walls is provided with a variable system, which allows to refract or absorb sound propagation.
The learning area is positioned over the lecture hall. It will host not only children but also other visitors attracted by the listening center and multimedia spaces. This space will be situated in one of the tallest areas of the building and will be exposed to direct light at 360°. From here, the view will be unique leveling itself at the treetops.
The outdoor theatre will be positioned on the rooftop of the internal theatre. It will be accessible by the main hall for special events. Its height position will allow an exceptional view that will appear over the lake just behind the sea. The theatre will be surrounded by walls on three directions that will reduce the impact of the sound in the rest of the park during the outdoor concerts.
The offices are completely exposed towards the north-east in order to provide best illumination. They have separates access and may communicate with the Hall as well as the other elements of the program at all levels.
The underground hosts the parking as well all the storage and the machinery rooms. They have been placed on the site of demolished buildings to preserve the existing trees. The spaces will be placed in contact with all the vertical circulation to serve every element of the museum.
Exiting the Pergola towards the lake, the pavement will dissolve itself gradually in the park, creating benches as well as deck chairs to appreciate at best the view that will be in direct relation with the bar, In order for the visitors to end their day comfortably watching the sunset reflect on the lake while having a drink.
- Sustainability
The site itself provides a strong density of trees towards the south. This has been kept in consideration throughout the conceiving process. The blade esthetical approach will in any case affect the performance of the building.
All separation between the inside and the outside will be conform to the 2020 almost 0 energy buildings attending to Hungarian regulations.
The integration of the trees over the structure will allow the sunrays in the building during the colder seasons, meanwhile in the warmer seasons the leaves will act as a protection. The glazed roof of the hall as well climbs over the trees tops. These will guarantee a microclimateas the outer ones will filter sunlight.
The blades as well are positioned in order to minimize direct sunlight into the building, especially in the exposition areas. Natural ventilation will be preferred for all the non-exposition areas. Large spaces provided on the rooftop will allow the gathering of rainwater. The concrete structure will guarantee terminal mass for the building.
- Experience
The circulation inside the museum is conceivedto make visitors understand the physical propagation of sound. Therefore every room is conceived with a different treatment of the wall surfaces in order to create an acoustic experience within the exposition.
- Anechoic Chamber
The visit will begin by entering an Anechoic Chamber in which the visitor willpurify their hearing from every type of noise allowing the visitor to experience silence and tranquility.
- Echo Chamber Experience
The next area will be treated with an echoing surface and hard floors. This will enable the visitors to have a particular listening experience where small sounds are amplified in relation to the shape of the building. The visitor will almost feel as though they are in a religious experience.
- Elliptical Chamber
This chamber uses the principle of the Elliptical sound effect. Here,there are two centers of construction, which concentrates on the two points of the propagation of sound. This will enable the visitorto hear from one side to the other side of the space without being heard by other people at the center of the exposition.
This will bring the visitor back to the idea of rediscovering how sound moves through space.
This will also lead to an illudical interaction between people watching the exposition. They will be able to start experimenting with sound and its different elements without strongly impacting the silence kept through this area of the exposition.The other visitors will remain undisturbed.
- 3D sound chamber
The 3-D sound chamber is conceived in order to let the visitor experience sounds realistically where they can visualize themselves in the scenes that the sounds make them think of.
- Sound Discovery
The remaining part of the exposition will be flexibly divided in cabins through the blade where it will be possible to apply every kind of acoustic experience the direction will decide to organize in the exposition. At this point the visitors may be assisted by a smart software guide that will allow them to interact with the museum during their visit. This will give them a unique and personal experience that they can share within social networks. These may be obtainable at the audio guide desk located in the hall. The last part of the exposition obliges the visitor to pass through a tunnel in which he flooded by sound experiences before re-exiting inside the tranquility of the hall.
- Rediscovery area
Once visitors have experienced the variety of sounding effects, the first part of the exposition aims for the mind to be ready to re discover sound. The second part of the exposition will therefore progressively reach the visitor with different acoustic sensations that will allow the visitor to re-appreciate the characteristics of sound.