ALDI, Tűzoltó street - Budapest - Hungarian architecture

In Budapest, Ferencváros, at the corner of Liliom and Tűzoltó Street a former riding hall can be found, built between 1845-46 as part of the Maria Theresa Barrack. Until 2010 it stood there empty – after the BÁV company used is as a furniture depot – when the ALDI supermarket chain bought the site with the locally protected building.

leading architect: Géza KENDIK - Stúdió A4 Iroda Kft.
cooperating architects: Viktória DÓCZY, VESZELIK Péter VESZELIK, Dániel SALAMON, Kristóf HORVÁTH
year of design/construction: 2008-2009/2010
photography: © Gabriella BICZÓ, © Tamás BUJNOVSZKY

The goal of the new owner was to transform the building, rather than demolishing it and building the regular well-known cubic. For the wanted result there were some compromises to make. First, the building could only take the third of a regular ALDI supermarket store’s size, as a new “supermarket-capsule” inside. The neighborhood was already crowded and there were enough stores to serve it. “It is not a question what the Architect does, but what he doesn’t! There are compromises to take, but in what I don’t believe, I don’t draw.” – said the Architect.

The steel structure of the old building was saved; during the construction 10000 mixed-colored brick were replaced. Following the “box in a box” theory, the drainage was solved behind the external cover, so it could stay perfectly plain and untouched.

The neighborhood welcomed the old-new hall. The new store was nominated for several prices, so after the successful intervention ALDI decided to continue with other brownfield investments in Budapest.

text/translation: Zsófia KUN, Norbert János PASKÓ