m4 metro line fővám tér underground station, budapest by sporaarchitects office
all images courtesy sporaarchitects office


hungarian sporaarchitects office have designed the the new metro line planned in budapest
to connect south-buda with the city center. located beside the danube river 10 stations are
currently under construction in the first phase.

only a complex structural system could fulfil the requirements emerging from the proximity
of the danube and the construction site. therefore the 'fővám tér' station is composed
of a cut-and-cover box and tunnels. the complexity of the structure is even greater, since
there is to be a new tunnel for tramlines and a pedestrian subway which will also be constructed.

the station is divided into two main stuctural parts as well as two building methods. there is a box
structure built through an open pit from the surface. work pits are supported by slurry or pile walls.
the other part of the station  is under an existing building.

the box is supported by three levels of reinforced concrete beams, the structure similar to that of
a net. there are three layers of this network, which keep the walls of the box like a bone-structure.

in the other part of the tunnels there is a curved cross section. the walls and the columns will be
covered with printed ceramic tiles of the arfwork type, reflecting to the zsolnay ceramics of
the gellért hotel, which is located nearby.

due to the construction technology, large rooms have been created in the inner spaces of the stations.
the section of the space is proportional to cross section of average street in pest, built in the eclectic
period in the 19th century, so the station can be interpreted as a inverse street or square under
the surface.

playing with natural light has been an important aspect in the architectural formation of the entire line.
the main goal of the project is the interior design, showing the architectural form as much as possible.
on the surface of 'fővám tér' a huge square will be created without traffic. this allows for installing
glassy crystalloid skylights, which will let the sunlight reach the platform level, emphasizing the character
of the beam network.

section view




basement floor plan

project info:
project: m4 metro line fővám tér underground station, budapest
location: center of budapest, quay of river danube, hungary
year designed: 2005
year built: 2007-2012
status:  under construction
volume: 7100m2
design: sporaarchitects ltd. – tibor dékány, sándor finta, ádám hatvani, orsolya vadász
team: zsuzsa balogh, attilla korompay, bence várhidi, noémi soltész, andrás jánosi, diána molnár
general design: palatium studió
photo: tamás bujnovszky