Creating a Community Cultural Centre for Music on Dósa nádor Square

The Community Cultural Centre for Music on Dósa nádor Square will make Debrecen a venue for popular music performances of European reputation.

Mayor László Papp said that the last five years have been primarily devoted to developing facilities to serve heavier, more severe genres, the so-called high cultural demands, talking of the two significant theatre developments, the Csokonai Forum and the renovation of the Csokonai Theatre. However, life is round and complete if the city tries to focus on all areas of urban life and culture.

As he said, the city must develop cultural centres that span genres and build bridges between age groups. This is partly because the city has also started to offer music training, as the University of Debrecen has a training system for this, and the town has a tradition in the field of Hungarian music. He stressed that the city invests in infrastructure development to make Debrecen suitable for hosting European-renowned popular music productions.

He said that there are very few, if any, quality clubs and cultural centres for popular music outside Budapest today that are suitable for providing an opportunity for not only local, prominent figures of the local famous music scene but also for bands and performers from Europe or anywhere else in the world, who are well-known, loved, famous or popular. By creating the Community Cultural Centre for Music on Dósa nádor Square, they want to fill a gap in the city’s cultural life that has not existed until now. He added that the development is aimed explicitly at recreating the atmosphere of the light music clubs and serving the entertainment needs of the 70,000 young people who live with us as a city that integrates youth.

“The city is changing its scale, which is felt in all areas of life, including culture. We would like to have the best clubs in Hungary or places among the best clubs in Debrecen, and at the same time to induce and support the career of Debrecen’s talents,” László Papp said.

He added that when the design competition was announced, applicants were asked to submit a proposal for a facility that would include performance and concert halls, catering facilities and accommodation. The call for proposals received 23 entries, evaluated by a panel of experts. The criteria included architectural and urban design, feasibility, and economic aspects. The municipality will soon conclude a design contract with the winning bidder, after which the preparation of the permit and construction plans will start. The construction of the facility could start in late 2025 or early 2026.

The mayor pointed out that the development involves three large properties. Two of them are located in the street frontage of Dósa nádor Square and will be extended to Ady Park behind the theatre because of their impact. The winning project will link the two squares, which is also an essential element as it will complete the coherent pedestrian zone of the city centre. The theatre will become an integral part of this centre in its lower levels, while the upper parts will serve as accommodation, thus making these three properties coherent. The city council has taken the necessary decisions on the regulatory planning side over the last year and a half. They are ready to launch one of Hungary’s best entertainment centres and entertainment venues with the necessary infrastructure improvements. He concluded by saying that Debrecen will gain a significant centre for light entertainment, which he believes will become one of the best entertainment centres in Hungary in the coming years or decades.

István Gábor, the Chief Architect, thanked the Hungarian architectural profession on behalf of the municipality. As he said, the space system that gives place to this centre is very complex, and it is not easy to find a way to create a valid, well-functioning cultural space that will be valuable not only for Debrecen but also for the larger region and even the country. He presented the results of the competition, according to which the jury decided that three entries would be awarded prizes and four would be purchased.

The first prize-winning entry is the most appropriate for the scheme, which will include creating a community cultural centre for music to continue existing elements of the downtown. The entry was designed with particular attention to the neighbouring residential buildings, both from an architectural development and operational point of view. The concept in the application is the most sophisticated and thoughtful regarding the cultural, accommodation and catering functions and how they are served. Together, the building and its use follow the principle of restoration and addition to reflect its historicity while integrating the three buildings into a single system. It is of high quality from an operational point of view.

The novelty and freshness of the solutions presented made it the most forward-looking proposal for the preservation and rehabilitation of protected and defensible elements, which can be further developed with modifications that do not affect the basic concept.

The second prize-winning entry presents a concept for a generous extension of the second floor of two buildings on Dósa nádor Square, with an architectural emphasis on the concert hall’s design. The retention and use of the buildings are achieved by continuing the contemporary spatial needs of the buildings, thus emphasising their architectural and historical value. The relationship with the surroundings is friendly, and the relationship between the planting and the neighbouring buildings is ideal. Given that the feasibility of the intervention implies a complete rebuilding of the Dósa nádor Square, the investment is less economical than the first-prize-winning proposal.

The third prize-winning entry transplants a contemporary feature into the existing historical system, with a location and appearance that leaves and changes the downtown in due proportion. This proportionality is a vital value of the entry. The visual message of the work is also projected onto the interior design elements, which is a solid, cohesive force in bringing together spaces of different characters. In contrast to the 1st and 2nd prize-winning entries, the shortcoming in the functional scheme of the designed spaces is the need to accommodate the large lecture area, which is the primary space requirement.

The shortlisted entries were of a lower standard than the winning entries. Still, they were coherent in their function and interior and exterior design, and largely fulfilled the requirements of the call for entries.

WINNING ENTRIES:
– 1st Prize: ARCHI-BAR Architectural Studio Kft.
– 2nd Prize: Róbert Novák
– 3rd Prize: Grafit Műterem Kft.

AWARDED TO THE WINNING ENTRIES (shortlisted entries):
– Balázs és Vecsey Építésziroda Kft.
– PS ALKOTÓ Kft. and GINKGO-Zöld Építész Iroda Kft.
– DMB Műterem Kft.
– JASSÓ Architectural Workshop Kft.

Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu