Glasgow in Scotland has its “Armadillo” designed by Foster and Partners which opened in 1997 for the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre; Budapest now has its “Whale”, (Bálna) as a new arts centre on the banks of the Danube,located a short walk from the bustling Central Market and across the Liberty Bridge from the Art Nouveau Gellert Hotel and baths. The new building opened in November 2013 after a legal dispute between the municipality of Budapest and the contractor and incorporates four warehouses for wheat built between 1874 and 1881 which had become dilapidated before the Dutch architect, Kas Oosterhuis incorporated them in the new complex, preserving some of the original architectural features and connecting two of them into the new atrium with a curved glass roof which rises and falls like a whale, hence its name.
The result is a new six-floor cultural centre for exhibitions, festivals, workshops, bars and and a shopping mall with underground parking incorporated into the design. At the lower level antique shops run into the old warehouse buildings, while upstairs the New Budapest Gallery displays changing exhibitions by contemporary Hungarian artists. Along the riverfront bars and restaurants have outside terraces with views across the Danube to the other side of the river.
It is good to see good contemporary architecture in Budapest at a time when several projects have been put on hold because of the economic situation. Perhaps, once this centre is fully occupied and the economy picks up, these other schemes might be developed.