Architecture

Part-subterranean museum extends park with huge rooftop garden

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The Museum of Ethnography is roughly 60 percent subterranean to ensure it doesn't overly dominate the site
György Palkó
The Museum of Ethnography is roughly 60 percent subterranean to ensure it doesn't overly dominate the site
György Palkó
The Museum of Ethnography is located in Budapest's Városliget park
György Palkó
The Museum of Ethnography's rooftop takes the form of two hills, which offer excellent views of the local area
György Palkó
The Museum of Ethnography's green roof is used for events and has been planted with local grasses and shrubs
György Palkó
The Museum of Ethnography's glazed exterior is shaded by an aluminum screen
György Palkó
The Museum of Ethnography's aluminum screen features remarkably intricate patterning
György Palkó
The Museum of Ethnography's interior measures 7,000 sq m (around 75,000 sq ft), spread over five floors
György Palkó
The Museum of Ethnography's exhibits date from the 17th century to the present day and includes more than 200,000 ethnographic artefacts
György Palkó
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Taking the form of two artificial hillsides topped by huge rooftop garden space, the recently completed Museum of Ethnography serves as an extension to an adjacent park in Budapest, Hungary. The museum also features a glazed facade shaded by an intricate screen that contains almost half a million laser-cut metal pieces.

The Museum of Ethnography was designed by local firm Napur Architect and was a serious engineering undertaking, with 60 percent of the building situated underground so as to not overly dominate the existing park site. Its 7,300 sq m (roughly 80,000 sq ft) rooftop garden was created using over three thousand cubic meters (roughly 106,000 cubic ft) of topsoil and hosts 1,500 perennials, seven shrubs, almost 100 evergreens and approximately 700 ornamental grasses.

While most of the building is underground, what is above ground is impressive and defined by the aluminum shading mesh, which helps prevent the interior from overheating due to solar heat gain.

"The building's crowning glory is its glass facade, the entire length of which is covered with a metal grid structure, into which almost half a million pixels have been inserted, depicting selected ethnographic motifs from the museum's Hungarian and international collections," explained the Museum of Ethnography's press release. "The structure envelops and curtains the building like a tapestry woven from Hungarian and world culture."

The Museum of Ethnography's glazed exterior is shaded by an aluminum screen
György Palkó

Inside, the museum measures 7,000 sq m (around 75,000 sq ft), spread over five floors, and it hosts over 200,000 artefacts, including photographs, manuscripts, folk music recordings, and films. Its exhibition spaces have been designed for flexibility and to allow for both temporary and permanent displays.

Almost 4,000 ceramic objects from all over the world are also on display, while elsewhere visitors will find a bookshop, a restaurant, a library, a documentation center, co-working facilities, a visitors' center, an events center and an interactive museum for children.

The Museum of Ethnography is part of a massive redevelopment effort in Budapest that features works from Zaha Hadid Architects and Sou Fujimoto Architects, the latter of which is situated just a stone's throw away from the museum.

Sources: Museum of Ethnography, Napur Architect

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1 comment
ReservoirPup
It's hard to find a worse way to use all that aluminum and glass in the 2020s. While some prefer form over function, others are left to suffer consequences of the environmental degradation and extremes.