Renovation of Iconic Parliament Building to Commence

Tamás Wachsler, head of the Steindl Imre Program, said in an interview with InfoRadio that the preparatory phase for the renovation of the Parliament Building will begin shortly. Experts will carry out a series of research work before the full reconstruction begins, which will include a number of modernizing works and changes.

The preparatory phase of the renovation of the Parliament Building will soon begin, which includes planning as well as numerous research to assess the actual condition of the building, said Tamás Wachsler. At the end of this phase, which will last for approximately two years, a tender for the design will be issued. Once this is done, the renovators will already know the detailed technical content and the possible price of the construction. The government will have the final say on the latter. According to Wachsler, only then can the actual planning work begin, the duration of which can only be estimated so far.

Photo: Pixabay

Fact

As the website of the Steindl Imre Program reads, in the summer of 2011, the Parliament decided to rebuild Kossuth Square and renew the wider surroundings of the Parliament Building. For this purpose, a program has been launched that bears the name of Imre Steindl, a Hungarian architect who designed the Parliament building. The Steindl Imre Program Nonprofit Company was established to carry out the growing tasks, managing the preparation and implementation of the investments as a key public project company.

Wachsler estimates that the actual planning will also take around two years. After that, another government decision will be required to decide whether the budget, based on the plans already drawn up at that time, is acceptable or not. If the government decision is in favor, the contractors will be invited to tender. The decision as to whether construction can begin will then again lie with the government.

Another aim is to restore the original structure of the building and to remove a number of walls and partitions from the post-construction period in the less spectacular areas.

As part of the project, the famous oil painting Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin by Mihály Munkácsy will also be removed from the Parliament Building. The painting is currently on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, but will eventually be returned to the Munkácsy Hall of Parliament, where, unfortunately, it will not be on public display.

Our idea is to create a place in the building of the Ministry of Agriculture where we can present the painting in a worthy manner,

the head of the Steindl Imre Program told InfoRadio.

Mihály Munkácsy’s painting Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in the Parliament. Photo: MTI/Bruzák Noémi

The total duration of the renovation can only be estimated at this stage. The only certainty is that the first phase must be completed within two years, as there is a corresponding government decision, said Wachsler, adding that the next phase is now expected to take two years. After that, when the government decides that the actual renovation can begin, the legislature will have to move out of the Parliament Building, which will again take time. The plan is for MPs to continue working in the Ministry of Agriculture building (next to the Parliament Building) during the transition period, which is expected to last around four years while the renovation is underway.

The complete renovation of the Parliament would take eight to ten years,”

said Wachsler.

He also pointed out that the building currently houses the offices of the heads of state and a number of other service facilities in addition to pure legislative work, i.e. plenary sessions and committee meetings. Everything except the latter would be moved to the Ministry of Agriculture, so that committee offices, offices of the President of Parliament, offices of the Secretary General and secretariats would be housed in the building opposite Parliament.

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