The reconstruction in numbers
Number of builders
1100 Number of chief engineers
62 1500 m3 demolition material 8350 m3 new concrete 415 m3 new wood 570 tonnes of reinforced steel 74 tonnes of installed hot rolled steel fittings 183 km of installed electric cable piping 211 km of installed low voltage cables 24 km of installed heating, cooling, water and sewage piping 5 km of air ducts
3500 m2 installed terrazzo cladding 3950 m2 installed special acoustic cladding 3600 m2 installed parquet flooring 2830 m2 restored stone facades 400 m2 covered with Zsolnay tiling 5658 m2 decorative painted areas 3025 m2 protected plaster-rabitz areas 460 m2 velvet upholstery (Grand Hall) 240 m2 drapery (Grand Hall) 367 m2 of stained glass surfaces 44 stained glass windows 1076 new windows fitted with sound, heat insulation glass 90 restored bronze sculptures and decorative elements
dramatically, there was an explosion in the number of enrolled students, and consequently there was ever greater demand for classrooms, as well as storage space due to library acquisitions. Service apartments were among the first to be sacrificed on the altar of education, and then the grandiose first floor residence of the director also went. Ad hoc alterations to the building began in the 1930s and were concluded in the 1950s and ‘60s. The Chamber Hall, which originally had a rigging loft, safety curtain and orchestral pit, suffered most from the addition of outdated materials and use of unprofessional solutions, with the damage hampering its functionality. Storerooms were set up in place of the orchestral pit and understage, while the rigging loft was split up into classrooms. In order to offset the damage this did to the acoustics, a “sounding board” was installed in the hall, although it did not bring about the hoped-for results: in actual fact, it succeeded in totally ruining the former prestige of the venue. (From this moment on it mattered whether an artist was categorised as either a “Grand” or a “Chamber Hall” musician.) Existing parts of the building had to be demolished in a few places in order to reinforce the structures and to allow the concealed installation of new electrical and mechanical componentry. Lakatos notes that these parts were primarily brick walls and sections of the floor structure. The new structures were made by preserving the original listed claddings and interior design solutions. In order to maximize utility, the reinforced concrete structures of the wings on Király Street and Dohnányi Street, which were affected by the roof space development carried out in the 1970s, had to be demolished. “In order to extend the spaces open to the public, we rethought the two courtyards. We have established a space for teaching during the day, and a buffet area serving the Grand Hall during the evening, on the ground floor of the multi-storey inner courtyard on the Király Street side,” the chief engineer said. A new lift connected to the courtyard on the Dohnányi Street side also improves access for the general public. Heavy duty glass panels have been installed in the floors of both courtyards; these channel natural light into the orchestra changing room on the lower floor on the Király Street side and the library on the Dohnányi Street side. Climate control of the concert halls also proved to be a serious challenge. Lakatos said about the former solution that was in place for many years: “Ventilation of the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy was achieved by a natural draught in the inner courtyards and specially installed air ducts that were connected to the courtyards, as well as originally two large fans built in to the loft spaces of the side balconies, which – depending on the direction of rotation – either sucked or blew air. In winter, the current of air was warmed by loft space radiators. However, the fans were so noisy that mechanical ventilation could not be employed during performances 59