TRANZIT CAFE, BUDAPEST

Tranzit Café was created by the transformation and reconstruction of the bus terminal in Kelenföld, originally built in the 1960s. By turning the former covered platforms into terraces and landscaping its surroundings, the café has become a new communal space among the blocks of houses. When the bus terminal was closed and removed, the area was abandoned for many years, and the building was constantly deteriorating. The architectural purpose of the plan was to save the house for the 21st century, preserving and improving its values with good quality renewal while also producing a cosy framework for an art café. The idea was to erect a garden kiosk with huge glass walls, which swims in green, and which is completely transparent, keeping a distance from the world. In course of the reconstruction, the portals received heat insulating glass panels fastened into steel frames with a unique structural solution. According to the designer’s intention, the internal space of a great floor-to-ceiling height covered by a spectacular shell roof was left clear and turned into the sitting area for the café’s customers. The two additional blocks host the kitchen and the staff room as well as the rooms serving the guest’s comfort. The ceramic mosaic tiles on the walls surrounding the internal space were also saved, and the wrought iron relief was moved to the external front. Heating is provided by district heating, and neon lights were placed into the beams running around the entire building so their light is reflected on the roof resulting in an even, diffused light everywhere in the interior. The broken tarmac around the building was taken up everywhere and replaced by homogeneous paving blocks. The external platform roofs were preserved, so now they cover the terrace of the café, protected from the noise and the dust by a thick wall of plants producing an intimate internal oasis, which also features the first water spray garden in Hungary. Like a found object that has been cleaned, the building is now waiting customers inside and outside as well. The once lifeless house is now filling the neighbourhood with fresh life, and its reconstruction has enriched the inner district of Kelenföld.

In 2005, the café received a Budapest Award for Excellence in Architecture – certificate of merit.

Tranzit Art Café, Budapest
client: NAPFIVÉR & HOLDNŐVÉR Ltd.
year of the design: 2004
volume: 200 m²