Budapest Architects around 1900: Gyula Fodor (1872-1942)

Topics: Introduction * Career * Interesting facts * Impressions of Julius * Buildings designed in Budapest

Introduction

When visiting Budapest, the Opera is one of the highlights every tourist "must" see. But another, less known gem, is located just behind the Opera: The Napóleon Udvar designed by Gyula Fodor in 1905. Currently under restoration, but only because of the beautiful Art Nouveau door a visit worth. When you look through the glass in the door you'll see beautiful stained-glass windows made in the the workshop of Miksa Róth.

Career

Gyula Fodor (Fodor Gyula): a big mystery because there's almost none biographical information available about this architect. This despite the fact that he designed at least 25 buildings in Budapest. Also Jewishgen doesn't provide any information, so it's likely that he has changed his surname and till now this is not noted in books. Julius also has doubts about the information in "A századforduló magyar építészete" published in  1990 (There are more inaccuracies in this book).

When it's correct that he realised in 1904 his first building in Budapest, it's likely that he was just graduated at the Technical University of Budapest. In general the architects graduated at this university, had an age of 22, 23. So if he is born in 1872, he must be graduated around 1895.... and then there's a gap of 9 years before he designed his first building.

Other sources providing the information that he probable studied at the Technical University in Vienna. And that from 1905 he worked independently and received his orders directly from the client, he did not participate in tenders. The last is right as far as known till now, but given the number of buildings designed by him, he must be graduated in Budapest (otherwise it wasn't possible to design such a number of buildings) and he must have had an office before 1904......

Interesting facts

* Born on December 4, 1872 in Pest and he also died in Budapest on January 27, 1942;
* Gyula Fodor was one of the numerous architects of Jewish origin.

Impressions of Julius

The buildings Julius till now has seen designed in Budapest by Gyula Fodor, but not to forget also the tomb, shows an architect with an eye for details. Doors, portals and other, often subtle, ornamentations which give a building a kind of playfullness, returning in many of his buildings, both at the inside and at the outside. Gyula Fodor belongs to the category of architects like the Löffler brothers, Béla Lajta and the Vágó brothers. Given the locations of the buildings designed by this architect it shows that the majority of his buildings are designed for the middle-class and even upper-class of the Jewish citizens of Budapest.

Recently Julius attributed also the building on the VIII. Kofarago utca 7 as an "Fodor" building. This because the used ornamentations on and in this building have numerous similarities with other "Fodor" buildings, such as the striking door. This while sources on the Internet attribute this building as a design of the architects Sámuel Révész and József Kollár.

Numerous buildings designed by Gyula Fodor do have a beautiful ornamented facades, but often you have to look up to see these ornamentations, such as e.g. on the VII. Dózsa György út 64 or the VIII. Baross utca 11. Further research have to be done why there are special ornamentations used. By example: at least at two buildings there are images of crowing roosters.  Why? That's the question....

For the ornamentation of these buildings, especially the statues and reliëfs, Gyula Fodor in general worked together with the artist Simon Ney. But also the name of Géza Mároti is named as being responsible for a part of the art works. The designs, attributed to Maróti, are also to find on several of the Löffler buildings and, but less, at the buildings designed by other architects. The Ernst Muzeum and lakóház (1912), designed by Gyula Fodor at the VI. Nagymezö utca 8 has artworks / ornamentations by other artists: Ödön Lechner designed the foyer and benches, while the stained-glass windows are designed by J. Rippel-Rónai. The stained-glass windows in the other buildings designed by Fodor, such as in the building on the VI. Hajos utca 25, are made in the workshop of Miksa Róth.

The iron doors, present in at least 14 buildings designed by Gyula Fodor, have allmost all significant similarities. On one of the doors is a slab of the workshop "Schneider József, Újpest". It's likely that all doors are made by the same firm (and also the door of the "Löffler" building on the VII. Kertész utca 29). Also strange, and certainly for a Jewish architect, is that (in the opinion of Julius) Gyula Fodor is portraited in at least two of the ornamentations on his buildings, probable even more.


The buildings are not to classify as "Lechner" buildings and the style of Gyula Fodor evolved from the more Viennese/western form of Art Nouveau (by example VIII. Csokonai utca 8 and VII. Dózsa György út 64), towards an own style with in later years pré Art Deco ornamentations. Untill now it was possible to view 19 buildings at the inside and it is remarkable to see, especially in the early designs, that the buildings at the courtyard side have a really classical look and the fence of the galleries on the courtyard is often a mixture of stone (reinforced concrete?) and iron and there are pilars to support the floorsun the floors

Several buildings are designed for a narrow but deep plot: the building on the VII. Dözsa Gyorgy utca 64 in fact exists of two parts. The building on the streetside and the builing oblique left behind it. The building at the streetside is in a fairly good condition, the building at the backside is dilapidated. It's a very deep plot of land on which these buildings are erected. The same way of designing a building on a rather narrow but deep plot can be seen at the VIII. Baross utca 43.

In general most of the 19 viewed buildings also have at the inside striking ornamentations such as numerous stained-glass windows. The building at the VIII. Baross utca 11 has splendid reliëfs in the entrance hall. The door of this building is already very special (and there are more copies to find in Budapest) but in this building it can been opened completely because there's a parking place in the courtyard between this building and the building, also designed by Fodor, at the VIII. Üllôi út 14. In several buildings are similarities between the used ornamentations in e.g. the fence in the stairwell or the doors of the apartments which have the same iron ornamentations. A more extended article about the buildings will be written as soon as all "Fodor" are be viewed form both the outside as the inside. 

In the chapter "Building of the Month" untill now 2 Fodor buildings are more detailed described: the Napóleon-Udvar and the building on the V. Falk Miksa utca 13. On the Kozma utca Jewish cemetery Gyula Fodor designed in 1908 the beautiful Konrád Polnay Csaladja (see picture below)


Until the 30s Gyula Fodor has been active as architect, though Julius has still not a good impression which buildings in that period by Fodor are designed. The building at the V. Varmegye utca 7 is built in a style that was common in the late 20s in Budapest, but also contains references to the buildings which Gyula Fodor designed during the Art Nouveau period. 

The list below is a first overview, at least 22 buildings at this list are 100% sure Gyula Fodor designs, for the other buildings more research have to be done. But also for this architect there's no overview available which buildings he designed and only by research and comparing of details it's possible to attribute a building on a name of an architect. Dates in the list below are not only based on information on Internet but also by comparing buildings and details.

Buildings designed in Budapest

Nowadays you still can find the following buildings in Budapest which are designed by Gyula Fodor:
1904 - VIII. Csokonai utca 8: lakóház 
1905 - VI. Hajós utca 25: Napóleon-Udvar
1905-1907 - VIII. Üllôi út 14 // Baross utca 11: Arany Sas-Udvar [Károlyi Alajos háza, „Sas udvar”]
1906 - VII. Akácfa utca 59: lakóház 
1907 - VII. Alsó erdôsor utca 8: Steinhardt-Udvar  
1907 - VII. Kazinczy utca 51: lakóház
1907 - VIII. Bauer Sándor utca 7: lakóház (steetname was till recently: "Erdélyi utca")
1907-1908 - VII. Dózsa György út 64: lakóház 
1907 - VIII. Fiumei út 14: lakóház (unsure)
1908 - VIII. Bezerédj utca 4: lakóház
1908 - VI. Rippl Rónai utca 40: lakóház
1908 - VIII. Gyulai Pál utca 16: Haller-ház
1908-1909 - VII. Dembinszky utca 44: lakóház  
1909 - VIII. Baross utca 43: lakóház
1909 - V. Falk Miksa utca 13:  lakóház
1909 - XIII. Hegedüs Gyula utca 73: lakóház (not 100% sure)
1909 - VIII. Kofarago utca 7: lakóház
1910 - XIV. VII. Dózsa György út 29: lakóház
1910-1911 - VIII. József utca 36: lakóház
1910-1911 - XIV. Ilka utca 20: lakóház 
1910-1911 - IX. Ráday utca 9: lakóház
1911 - V. Falk Miksa utca 18-20: lakóház
1912 - VI. Nagymezô utca 8:  Ernst Muzeum és lakóház
1914 - VI. Zichy Jenö utca 30 // Nagymezö utca 31: lakóház
1931 - V. Varmegye utca 7: O.T.I.  Banyanyugbéralap Bérháza
? V. Petöfi Sándor utca 6: lakóház
(List subject to changes!)

(Last modification: October 28, 2012)