Albert Kalman Korossy. The Walko Haus. Outside AND Inside.

The Walko Haus by Albert Kalman Korossy was built in 1901.  It sits at Aulich utca 3.  The beautiful mosaics and sculpture are by Geza Maroti, one of Budapest's most important sculptors. The figure is Eve.  

The figure is Eve, and below her is a veritable garden of Eden, filled with flowers and plants and animals.

 

Squirrels, birds feeding their young, frogs, rabbits, peacocks (So Art Nouveau), and even a snake  One could (and has) looked at it many time and continue to find details.

Almost every time I go by this building, I tell Tony how much I wish I could see inside,

Well, I was taking photos the other day (and trying to peek inside), when someone came out of the building.  I asked if I could step inside and take a photo and to my absolute shock she said yes.  So here it is.  Beautifully organic in so many ways.

From the flowered tile made to resemble a carpet.

The floral stucco decorations.

 

The stairway column, carved to look like its growing  out of the building.

And the railings that look like twigs.

The room is like a bower.

We were so excited, we took ourselves out to a great lunch at Klassz.

#WalkoHaus
#AlbertKalmanKorossy
#ArtNouveau
#Budapest
#Klassz

Bela Lajta. The Vocational School. (Taking Pictures in the Rain)

Bela Lajta (1873-1920) was one of the most innovative and original architects of his time.  (He did the Jewish School for the Blind with its remarkable fence which I wrote about earlier.)  Although he trained with the masters (Alajos Hauszman and  Odon Lechner) he quickly went his own way.  He was highly individual and imaginative.  One of the hallmarks of his work is the intricate graphic design which makes the often  simple lines  of his buildings remarkable.

The tile above comes from the Technical School on Vas utca 9-11, which Lajta built between 1909 and 1913.  The building is fairly austere and relies more on graphic design than color to achieve its effect--a quality which makes it a good candidate for photographing on a cold, gray day. ( I mention this because we have had a lot of rain, sleet, and snow this visit, which has made for some creative thinking about how to spend our days.)  

However, close attention to its details awards.  What is particularly interesting is how technical  images woven  into more traditional organic imagery.

And (because it's a school) Lajta's favorite owl

We were lucky to be allowed inside as well.

The original ceiling  decoration.

And all the beautiful tiles and glass.

#LajtaBela
#VasUtcaVocationalSchool

The Schiller Villa by Jozsef Vago: An Interior Extraordinaire

The Schiller Villa was built in 1910-1912 by the renowned Hungarian architect Jozsef Vago for Miksa Schiffer, a railway engineer, entrepreneur, and art patron.  Vago conceived the villa as a gesamtkunstwerk, or a "total work of art."  He designed the exterior (which is greatly changed from its original appearance) and the interior (which has been restored based on contemporary photographs).  The interior is meant to highlight the best art in Hungary:  major artists working in a Hungarian tradition, including Kernstock Karoly (who designed the stained glass windows), the painter Rippl-Ronai, and Miklos Ligeti who contributed a sculpture.  All the design details of the house were Vago's and were based on traditions in Hungarian folk art.

Stained glass windows predominate in the villa:

Tiles by Zsolnay.

Sculpture by Miklos Ligeti

And myriad architectural details, all created by Vago.

This house survived by a series of accidents.  It is currently the Museum of Tax and  Excise.  I think most people come to view the building though.  It is one of the very few extant Art Nouveau interiors not only in Hungary but Europe as a whole.  It is not well  known--doesn't appear in most of the tourist guides.  So it is a true hidden treasure. 

#VagoJozsef
#SchillerVilla
#Budapest
#gesamtkunstwerk