On 18 April 2022, we will once again celebrate monuments around the world. To mark the International Day For Monuments and Sites, Budapest-based architecture studio 3h shared a curious story.
In 2012, they were commissioned to renovate and extend the Schachtner House in Városmajor Street, designed by Ferenc Brein in the mid-19th century. One day, a colleague of theirs was returning from the renovation of the listed building with a small piece of wood:
“In his bag was a small piece of wood, a small part of a window of the building. This piece of wood, about twenty centimeters long, was not colorful, striking or designed, yet everyone stopped to hold it, smell it, admire it.”
The magic of the last two hundred years of history was all there in that piece. The renovation process also affected the windows, of which only a few remain, and at the same time an exciting story began. The architects of the office launched a research project: in addition to collecting and studying surviving relics, photographic documentation and archival material, they used different methods of measurement and construction in consultation with experts. They hope that the meticulous work will restore the windows to their former glory.
Photos: Section of the window (2015) and the façade in Városmajor Street (ca. 1930)
Source: Press release