Renewal of Nyugati railway station and its surroundings in Budapest (HU)

In the opinion of the Evaluation Committee, the best urban design response to the Competition brief. 

It fits well into the existing urban fabric. The Podmaniczky Street space wall is well proportioned, as the pullback of the buildings is adequate. The space wall opens in a good position, in front of the former engine shed, which is thus also open from this direction. The grouping of the green areas facing the railway is particularly favourable. The connection of the Podmaniczky Street to the Dózsa György Boulevard with the green opening also provides a solution for the function of the narrowing area. 

The integration of the Lehel Square above the railway into the green axis as a cross-axis is also a wellproportioned solution to connect Districts VI and XIII, although the survival of the planted trees on the superstructure is questionable. The conversion of the Ferdinánd Bridge into an underpass is also functionally beneficial for the deep-level station. However, the Evaluation Committee missed the additional pedestrian and cycling connections between the two districts over the railway. 

From a real estate development point of view, the location of the congress centre behind the Westend Shopping Centre in District XIII is an excellent solution in terms of location and size.

The urban public space planned to replace the current bus station and surface car park in the Nyugati Square has a good ratio of paved to green areas, but surface openings create some obstacles to passenger flow. The plan works with minimal architectural means on the surface (solar-powered platform roof), so the arrival from the square is uncertain. At the same time, the historic railway station building is therefore a win-win situation, and its closure and future use as a stand-alone building may be possible. The pedestrian axis between the building and the surface tracks, connecting the Váci Street and the Podmaniczky Street, is of a generous design, partially covered with a platform roof. 

The ground floor cutting of the historical railway station building is excessive; the ramp is a particularly accident-prone solution, and a lot of usable space is lost next to it. Otherwise, functionally the shops are well located next to the passenger flow spaces. The M3 and M5 metro lines are accessible from the intermediate underpass level, and there is also an exit to the Eiffel Square, which is fine but not essential. The deep-level garage installed on this level, which can be accessed from the Ferdinánd underpass, is particularly well positioned, and this level could have accommodated more functions, even commercial ones. 

From railway operation point of view, it has good connections from all directions, although the direction of the underground escalators is the opposite of the pedestrian traffic. The architectural solutions of the deep-level station are elegant, its lateral opening (towards the Podmaniczky Street) is a good solution in terms of natural light and ventilation, which reduces the mechanical requirements by an order of magnitude. However, the sloped solution along the side rails poses operational problems.

The design was intended to have a restrained architectural appearance; however, given that the Competition brief primarily required a new above-ground track hall, the Evaluation Committee did not find the solar platform roof to be an acceptable architectural solution. This solution is not worthy of the capital and the future main railway station of Hungary. 

In recognition of the achievements of the submission, the Evaluation Committee has recommended the design for a shared 2nd prize.