Cultural Centre - Nyírbátor - Hungarian architecture

The Cultural Center in Nyírbátor is a multifunctional building which is a brave and unconventional contemporary creation which is a result of a fortunate encounter of the designer, Ferenc Bán and the Nyírbátor City Council.

architect: Ferenc BÁN - 'A' Stúdió '90 Kft (under construction).
colaborating architects: Banu Roland, László Zoltán, Tenkely Szabolcs, Tisza András
year of design/construction: 2006
photography: © Tamás BUJNOVSZKY, © Tibor ZSITVA

The location is in the city center of Nyírbátor which is a market town with a vivid life but in the last decades were mainly dominated by the traffic. The buiding stands between the City Hall and a relatively insignificant residential building in the longitudinal part of the square. To this special position the building reflects with an energetic frame, which connects itself to the closed off installation, however it creates a certain distance from the other buildings too, because this kind of frame can be a spatial extension of the main square, and with its monumental stair it symbolises the first step towards the Cultural Center. At the entrance this stair is cut into two parts with a glass wall, which is a jammed membrane among the monumental frame's walls.

The stair is continued in the internal space and on the top there is the foyer which can be opened together with the theatre. The walls that are leaning in an unusual angle and the sculptural mass elements (stair tower, bridge, hanging studio box) are responsible for the foyer's dynamics. The special design of the theatre allows it to be used in many different ways. Under the fixed links you can get into the auditorium and it's slope continues in the mobile stalls. So if a flat floor is required (e.g. dance event), the space can be accomodated. The size of the stage can also be altered, moreover, a chamber hall can be separated from it.

The building’s centre is this ’black box’ with its calm and moderate design, as compared to the dramatic foreground. This bare box is visible on the facade too, which really is characteristic to the designer, Ferenc Bán. The front facades are determined by the passage to the theatre. To the City Hall it is connected with a neck part, from the other side a columned archway makes it elegant.

To summarize all above, the Cultural Center is a brave, definite statement, which, with its foreig, but beneficial effect, hopefully can be integrated into the rural, festive city, approaching the throbbing urban life and high culture.

translation: Rita DOLMÁNY