Infopoints

Tamás Bata

Buda Castle’s cool information centers double as selfie mirrors

• Architects

What would be the way to expand a historic city quarter with contemporary buildings avoiding disharmonious results? It was the core concern of the architects when designing the new information centers in the Buda Castle District in Budapest. The recently finished Visitor Center and Infopoint kiosks are using contemporary solutions to reflect on their surroundings - figuratively and literally.\

The new Visitor Center and additional Infopoints function as the new information hubs of the Castle District. The pavilions were built based on the idea of the Castle Headquarters Integrated Regional Development Centre Nonprofit Ltd., designed by architecture studio, BLOKK and further developed and implemented by the Hello Wood team.

The 30-square-meter Visitor Center is located in a special environment of historic buildings - in the center of the Palace District, near the Palace of Buda Castle. During the design process, the focus was on creating a building that fits and responds to its sensitive surroundings. The typical architectural shapes of the Palace District served as an example, therefore the square body was crowned with a similar high roof. As a contemporary architectural solution, both the façade and the roof were covered with mirror cladding, identical to the previously completed Infopoints buildings that are also part of the Castle District's new touristic system.

The Infopoints are nearly perfect cubes without visible door handles when closed. These mirror kiosks have been installed in three different locations in the district and look natural in the setting of that historic place functioning as information desks and souvenir shops. The playful contrast of the exterior and the interior makes the Visitor Center and the Infopoints even more exciting. The reflective steel façade’s cold feel was paired with the bright and warm interior which is defined by the natural-colored pine plywood cladding. The skylight placed at the top of the Visitor Center’s high roof ensures the inflow of natural light and also emphasizes the monolithic appearance of the building.

photo_credit Zsuzsa Darab — Zsuzsa Darab

In order to be transportable and easy to assemble on-site, Hello Wood redesigned the structures so that the buildings were constructed of four steel-framed modules, which were lifted into place by a crane.\

In the case of these information centers, the functionality is enhanced by the exciting design. Thanks to the clean appearance and reflective surface of the chameleon-like buildings, it attracts the attention of visitors looking for information in the Buda Castle District… who can even take a great selfie with the beautiful historic district in the background.