Building of the Month: January 2011 - OTI székháza

Topics: Introduction * History of this building * Architects * The reliëfs * Photo gallery * Where can you find this building

Introduction

The Building of the Month in January 2011 seems at the first sight to be a building that has been built in one time. But, in fact it was built in 2 parts. The building is known under two names: OTI szekháza and Budapesti Kerületi Munkásbiztosító szekháza. Current name: Budapest Fővárosi Kormányhivatal Nyugdíjbiztosítási Igazgatóság ügyfelszolgálat (Central Administration of National Pension Insurance).

The entire building was realized in two periods: the left wing in 1911-1912, the tower and the right wing in the period 1929-1931. The architect who was involved in both phases of construction, was the architect Marcell Komor (1868-1944). Special attention deserves the wonderful series of reliefs on the facade, made by famous Hungarian sculptors.

History of this building

The left part of the building was built in 1912-1913 as an office for the OTI (National Social Security Institute). On 1 January 1929 the Hungarian government has launched numerous laws by which working conditions were improved. For example there was a mandatory retirement, there were provisions in place relating to disability, a death insurance for women who stayed alone when their husbands died by an accident at work and so on. Due to this the existing building was too small for all employees who were required to implement these laws. Therefore an expansion was required of the old building. Due to earlier plans to expand, the ground at the right side of the building was already property of the OTI. But both World War I and the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 and its consequences were the reason that a delay has occured.

The design of the right wing gave some practical problems. The architects tried the building look as a whole. Problem was that the left wing was built in late Art Nouveau style and this kind of buildings was no longer in use in the late '20s. (Bauhaus / New Objectivity was emerging as style). The solution was found by using the same elements like the brick facade, and the continuation of the reliefs. The highlight however was the tower which was decorated in Art Nouveau style. This tower was also the solution to solve the difference in height of the left and right wing. The tower was part of the discussions in those years which were held in Budapest about the construction of skyscrapers in the city. Many plans were made to build such kind of buildings, but only this tower was realised. (Photo: one of the statues against the wall)

The expansion was achieved in a very fast pace, the right wing and thetower was completed in 1931, partly through the use of bauxite cement which quickly hardens. With hindsight, this method of construction was not the best one as evidenced by the history of the tower.

This tower was originally a 16 floors high tower and had a height of 75 meters. The upper eight storeys, as the picture above shows, were eye catching. On top: large statues on the corners and a big clock, also visseble on all sides, together with other ornamentations. The top of the tower has showed the typical Art Nouveau buildings in the usual forms by Ödön Lechner and his followers, but than after the Art Nouveau movement. The rooms in this part of the tower were by example used for the storage of documents and other important things and they were fire resistant. In the 60s became clear that the used bauxite cement was not resistant against the ravages of time and began to lose its strength. This resulted in 1969 to the demolition of the upper part of the tower. Due to this, the building lost his characteristic look and nowadays you only can see a half-tower.

A renovation began early 2000 and in 2004 the building was as much aspossible in its former glory restored. The new interior has got many positive critical acclaim. The restoration team has tried with respect for the old elements to create a functional building adapted to modern times. One of the things that was changed was the replacement of the old wooden window frames by plastic ones, which is less beautiful but more functional. On a Hungarian website on architecture, you can see a few interior photos, click  here.

This building is, after Julius humble opinion, very striking. The two original architects have looked at a design by the architect Béla Lajta, the former Institute for the Blind in particular the manner of use of brick. In both cases, American influences are noticeable (Frank Lloyd Wright). On the other side also explainable by the fact that both Marcell Komor as Deszö Jakab Dezsö were Lechner followers, just like Béla Lajta.

Architects

The base, so the left wing, was designed by the architects Marcell Komor (1868-1944) and Deszö Jakab (1864-1932). These two architects designed in the period from about 1897 to 1918 many beautiful buildings including the Palace szálló (now the Novotel) on the VIII. Rákóczi út 43 in Budapest.

The architects for the tower and the right wing were Marcell Komor and Aladar Sos, aided by the design of Janos Komor for the tower. Janos Komor has tried to introduce the phenomenon Skyscraper in Budapest. He has published several articles about it in the journal Ter es Form, from which he was one of the editors. According to the then prevailing view this tower was also called a Skyscraper . (Photo above: Marcell Komor)

The reliëfs

The building has been beautifully restored and is, despite the absence of the striking tower, still an impressive building. However, in the eyes of Julius, in particular the 24 reliëfs on the facade (12 left and 12 right) are of great beauty and make this building a "must see".

he building has been beautifully restored and is, despite the absenceof the striking tower, still an impressive building. However, in the eyes of Julius, in particular the 24 reliëfs on the facade (12 left and 12 right) are of great beauty and make this building a "must see".

There is a explicit difference in the style of the reliëfs on the left side and right side. The left side shows much more the dangers that may occur in hazardous work, the danger of drink and many other dangerous things that can happen with a worker. The reliëfs on the right wing are looking more modern and show all kinds of crafts together with warnings for unsafe working circumstances. The sculptors of these reliëfs: János Zsákodi Csiszer(signed), Béla Markup (signed) and Maugsch Gyula (signed). The other reliefs on the building have been made by Sidló Ferenc László Hűvös, Bíró Mihály and Antal Orbán

Photo gallery

Below is a selection of exterior photographs of this impressive office building. The six reliëfs are already in big size, the other  get a bigger size when moving with the mouse on a picture. The first 2 reliëfs on this page can be found on the left, the other four on the right side of the building.

Note: Scaling works best with screen resolutions higher than 1152 x 864. At lower resolutions you will see only a part of the photos!

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Where can you find this building

The building is opposite the Kerepesi temetö (cemetery) on the VIII. Fiumei út 19 (a + b), which is near the Keleti Palyaudvar station.

The GPS coordinates of this location are: 47 ° N. 495.8858 / 083.5518 O. 19 °  


Budapest Architect - View the location of the Building of the Month on a larger map

(Last modification: October 12, 2012)