The dark and damaged passageway of the Budapest spectacle has been a popular location in spy films, now its intricate details can be properly seen for the first time in its history.

The designers who worked on repurposing the apartments above the passageway to a five star hotel had the enormous task to honor the Neo Gothic, Art Nouveau and Moorish aesthetics created by the masters of 1900 s in their contemporary interpretation with subtlety.
Had you visited the Paris Court in downtown Budapest only a handful of years ago, you’d have met with a significantly different impression Darkened corners, rusted metalwork and damage from the tumultuous wartime events that shook Europe in the 20th. Century all combined to make for an architectural sight that was at once historically rich yet in many ways a shadow of its former glory In fact, it was a popular destination for filmmakers, who saw the opportunity to leverage the combination of the ornate passageway and limited natural light for covert undercover meetings in spy films such as 2011 ’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Over the last three years, a partnership between Kroki and Archikon has worked to revive the downtown location, restoring the dark and damaged arcade to a decorated landmark that introduces proper lighting to its intricate details for the first time in its history.

The goal was first to restore the historical features of the central passageway, which is now open to the public as it had been prior to its disrepair. This meant maintaining the unique facades and decorative elements of the building that its creator, Henrik Schmahl had designed it with when it was built at the beginning of the 1900 s Glimpses of Neo Gothic, Art Nouveau and Moorish aesthetics can be spotted throughout the covered space. The myriad details that once decorated the passageway is a rarity across Europe, and so when work started it was essential that these same features were restored and maintained
to their previous, ornate glory.
The initial work on the Paris Court began with Archikon who first needed to restore the glass dome that acts as the centrepiece for the walkway. Archikon who has worked on numerous restorations of historic buildings in Budapest, knew that the first goal should be to bring light into the passageway This dome was meticulously cleaned and, where necessary, replaced with the same attention to detail that it had previously been built with A protective casing has also been added to the dome, securing the delicate construction from the elements while still allowing light to pour into the central seating area below. The protective case itself is designed with a tiered set of windows, while a small terrace at the first floor of the residences allows for access to the glass dome, acting a small viewing space into the arcade below.

While ARCHIKON worked hard to tactfully restore the arcade to its historical beauty, it was the work above within the residences that allowed the architectural studio to bring modern aspects to the building. A once open air courtyard that provided access to the apartments themselves has now been covered with a unique rooftop with geometrical glass panels. This allows light into the renovated space but protects it from the elements.

Nowhere is this attention to the original features better seen than in the new floor that has been added onto the building and is being used for the hotel’s presidential suite. Here Archikon built a rooftop terrace to provide a grand view over the city while still retaining a sense of privacy and personal space.

The terrace provides immediate view of the building’s original rooftop tiles. These famous Zsolnay tiles are a familiar sight on numerous historical buildings throughout Budapest and Hungary, but nowhere else is it possible to have such direct closeness to the iconic ceramics.

In total, the hotel contains 110 rooms and suites, decorated in Art Nouveau style with a fusion of gothic and Moorish-inspired details. The refined and classical style of the rooms are appreciated by the clients thanks to the noble materials and majestic elements of the interiors. Each room features one comfortable bedroom with stylish furniture; and a marble bathroom with rainforest shower, and also bathtub in the suites.