House of Hungarian Music

House of Hungarian Music is one of the five new museums within the framework of the Liget Budapest Project, that will become the “heart” of the park, based on the crossroads of main pedestrian directions. The proposal is based on the idea of the building as an architectural incarnation of synthesis of vision and hearing, a metaphor of music as a complicated system of simple elements, as a shell for sound experiments, and a multifunctional stage for learning Hungarian music in its manifestations.

Sound turned into a building is the main idea of HOHM. Widely known neurological phenomenon “synaesthesia” (or "union of the senses") is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. Chromesthesia is one of its forms, characterized by the connection of vision and hearing senses. According to Anthony Braxton’s “Composition Notes”, some synesthetes also resemble irregular three-dimensional geometric forms and shapes. Concept of the symbolic meaning of the building’s structure is based on this amazing human feature, which came down to nowadays throw exceptional cases of synaesthesia.

Furthermore, what is music if not a complicated combination of simple elements? The combining of meter, tempo, rhythm, melody, harmony, dynamics, timbre, and musical instruments creates a sense that music is "organized". The combination of any or all of these elements to form "music" provides for the notion of musical unity. When two tones are played simultaneously, a listener can sometimes perceive an additional tone whose frequency is a sum or difference of the two frequencies. In the same way, HHM’s building appears as a combination of well-organized three-dimensional primitives, which create some new spaces by intersecting each other. In the twenty-first century, music is searching for new forms and combinations as well as new spaces for sound and this way of building’s design corresponds to this modern request.

In the House of Hungarian Music, one of the tasks is to create a kind of shell for sound. Different room shapes can provide different acoustic characteristics and place various scenarios. Using diverse configurations in the inner space we ensure a huge amount of possible ways of exploiting the exhibition’s area. New spaces and stages are springing for expression of the nature of sound as well as the historical development of Hungarian music.

HOHM consists of a set of simple geometric figures, which were put together on a circular axis and provide an open-air inner yard. A set of figures is cut out from outside by the cylinder. In this way, the building's structure is solid from the outside and composite from the inside. The zoning of the plot oriented to the main movement directions and the most important park objects. Main avenues extend from the inner yard and provide main pedestrian directions on site. The composed configuration of the building creates unique inner spaces. Exposition areas of the House of Hungarian Music are divided into two levels: spaces for permanent and temporary exhibitions. A learning center is designed for educational activities and is also connected with the library and listening studio.