Rudas Bath – Renovation and extension project by Ivanka and Nimana architects – Photos: courtesy of Ivanka.
Ivanka teamed with Nirmana architects to renovate the famous Rudas bath in Budapest. The Hungarian concrete brand and factory re-interpreted Ottoman architecture with a contemporary twist.
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Rudas thermal bath was built in the 16th century during the Turkish occupation. The project features a brand new section of the historical spa that dialogues with the vestiges of the past and offers a bespoke experience with a view on the Danube river.
The primary aim of the renovation was to connect the bottling plant to the bath to reconstruct the building equipped with additional functions. For the surface of the building, Ivanka and Nirmana architects developed high performance off-white concrete elements featuring a Girih pattern.
The Girih is a typical leit-motiv in Ottoman architecture. Decorative tradition is converted into a contemporary concrete layout that is both perforated and engraved.
RELATED STORY: Rainhouse – The Water of Life. IVANKA developed a revolutionary bioconcrete system to harvest, filter and turn rain into the highest quality drinking water.
A scale model of the Girih geometric pattern was also presented at the Sound of Texture multi sensorial exhibition during Milan Design Week. The installation comprising IVANKA’s new concrete collections featured stylised trees carrying tactile surfaces that embraced human interaction.
“The Sound of Concrete” Ivanka at Milan Design Week.
When touched by hand, each surface/texture produced a unique sound contributing to create a concrete symphony. The result was an emotional snapshot linking human movements with the material‘s inner spirit.
“The Sound of Concrete” Ivanka at Milan Design Week.
Andras and Katalin Ivanka say: “We have taken concrete into many new fields of application and we always wanted to be connected with music. The Sound of Textures installation allowed us to discover new paths of ‘translating’ textures and concrete surfaces into the language of sounds”.
“The Sound of Concrete” Ivanka at Milan Design Week.
Indeed, founded by Katalin and Andras Ivanka, the Budapest based brand explores concrete design applications meshing art and architecture, fashion and music.
Rudas bath, Budapest.
An out of the box approach and a fully operating concrete production hub brought IVANKA to work with leading designers worldwide. From Zaha Hadid to Marcel Wanders and Tom Dixon but also trend.setting brands like Mecedes Bens, BMW and GStar Raw.
Guadi tiles by Ivanka.
Most recently Ivanka inaugurated also a flagship store in Tel Aviv, Israel. Katalin Ivanka says “The Tel Aviv opening has also an architectural importance: we are glad to set a foot in this city, a UNESCO world heritage site for its concrete-made Bauhaus architecture”.
Ivanka flagship store in Tel Aviv.
Rudas bath, Budapest.
