Laura Alvarez Architecture

House of Hungarian Music . Budapest

The new Museum of Hungarian Music will be a vibrant place. It will attract people from all over the world as well as from Hungary.
When we think about a Museum of Music, we all have in mind a bit outdated museum. In there, you can only see things but not experience them: Instruments, old manuscripts, etc are the most common artefacts to be exhibited in this type of museums.

VISION
In our opinion, a Museum of Music should achieve much more than that.
In fact, everyone has listened to music in any moment of his or her life. Most of us do it regularly.
We could then conclude that everyone is a potential visitor of the Museum of Hungarian Music.
For example, we experience music many times through art, dance or films. Music in itself, is an Art that do not establish a limit within his own field.
Although we did comply with the given design brief, we think that some functions could be added or combined in space with some other rooms: Why not having Record Studios in the Museum, Why not being able to let people interact?
We belief in buildings that can deal with transformations, buildings are not outdated when they need to be adapted to new conditions or functions.
We believe in long-lasting architecture and in ideas that are rooted in the context and give the correct answer to client, citizens and to the context in which they are inserted.
LOCATION AND PROPOSAL
The new Museum is located in a very privileged area. It is on the crossing road from all new museums and at the same time it is immersed in the park, in a quiet and green room.
We are asked to design a museum and an outdoor stage in a relatively small plot full of trees.
In order to diminish the amount of trees to be tear down, we started studying which possibilities there are combining functions and reducing the amount of covered floor area.
After an extensive study of the possibilities, we came to the conclusion that if we would place the stage on top of the museum many things could be solved at once:
-The stage would not occupy floor space and therefore less trees would need to be cut down.
-The stage will have marvellous views towards the museum square.
The museum would have a wide variety of floor heights and the program could be placed in different zones according to the needs.
-The resulting shape, derived from its function, could work as an eye catcher and could awake curiosity in many visitors of the park.
We propose a very simple volume, a cube of 60 x 60 m , with a very clear grid. The only alteration is the roof. It shape is based on a carefully studied amphitheatre shape.
Our proposal is timeless, it does not follow any trend, it is just a container with beautiful proportions and easy to be reconfigured.
ENTRANCE
A big inner square mark the entrance. It is very height and bright. It works as the reference point for the visitors, a meeting place, coffee corner, information area, ….Even the Museum shop can colonise a piece of this common area.
The main hall is always accessible , access free.

EXHIBITION HALLS
The exhibition area is organised in a way that two different exhibition can take place at the same time without interfering with each other. In case needed they can be combined in one unique space.
The exhibition rooms are all very similar in shape, but very easy to transform. As the layout is based on a regular grid of 12 x 12 m, it is possible to organise different circulations and set ups.
The two different exhibition areas (temporary and permanent) meet on the first floor, at the Sound Dome.
MUSEUM LEARNING
Library and classrooms are situated on the ground floor, for an easy accessibility. These spaces face the park and have a very beautiful view towards the park.
MUSEUM EVENT
The Learning and Performance space are situated on the second floor . They are directly accessible from the communication point (lift and stairs) and there is also another possibility to be visited together with the exhibition areas
STAFF FACILITIES
The staff members have their own entrance from the southwest elevation.
The staff rooms are situated in the highest part of the building, They have good light conditions and they are properly connected with lift and staircases.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION
We propose to build the New Museum with rammed earth construction.
Rammed earth is a technique for building walls using natural raw materials such as earth, chalk, lime or gravel.
Rammed earth can effectively control humidity where unclad walls containing clay are exposed to an internal space. Humidity is held between 40% and 60%, the ideal range for asthma sufferers and for the storage of such susceptible items as books. The material mass and clay content of rammed earth allows the building to “breathe” more than concrete structures do, avoiding condensation issues without significant heat loss
The external walls of our rammed earth proposal with a minimum of 350mm thickness, provide excellent protection from extremes in climate. The thickness and density of the material means that heat (or cold) penetration of the wall is very slow and the internal temperature of the building remains relatively stable. Rammed earth is a popular choice for buildings where temperature fluctuations need to be kept to a minimum, such as a Museum.
Internal walls in rammed earth are also extremely useful in providing sound insulation between areas with different needs.

Location: Budapest, HU
Program: Exhibition space, learning centre, restaurant, auditorium, lecture room, library, outdoor stage, parking and storage spaces
Area: 10.000 m2
Year: 2014
Status: Competition. Based on the jury evaluation, our proposal was amongst the best 15 entries from the 473 proposals.