Facility: Budapest has the newest super hall in Europe from today

– Before the handover of the sports facility you designed, which was the most difficult to complete?
– Compared to the same period of construction of the Puskás Aréna, the current working pace seemed denser – said György Skardelli, architect of the new multifunctional arena in Budapest. – Before the current arena's so-called rehearsal, which is the official name of the event, the tempo was accelerated. But there was a reason for this: the multi-stage pandemic wave also prevented the work of foreign supply companies, let alone talking about other work progress. In the last period, it was especially difficult to keep up with the pace, so that even the decorative lighting would not be a problem.

– When we spoke after the inauguration of the Puskás Aréna in 2019, I asked: "The great work is finished... does the architect rest?” You replied that you were already interested in the construction of a sports hall for the 2022 European Handball Championship (jointly organized by Hungary and Slovakia) inNépliget, which will have a capacity of 20,000 people.
– I was interested in it so much that I did the two jobs simultaneously. For a year, I worked by being out during the week at the Puskás Arena, and on the weekends, I designed the multifunctional arena. And that what the entire studio did as well: everyone was working on the new hall on their computer. So, there was no time to rest! After the Puskás Aréna was completed, the design team traveled to Amsterdam for four days.

– Was the design process going calmly or hectically?
– Rather hectically...The plans also had to be reworkedbecause of budget cuts. We had to take into account an area ten thousand square meters smaller, and the conciliation process that came with it was "murderous."The contractor wanted to build because of the tight deadline, but we still redesigned the facility according to the new expectation. And, of course, like all construction sites, everything is compiled by the end. I've been out at the site every day for the last year, and even when it came to decorative lighting rehearsals, I've done it twice. I might add that I like to be on site, which is also my passion. It was tough butwas worth it. More precisely, time, the athletes, the fans, since it is a multifunctional arena, the performers and the audience will tell.

–When the Puskás Arena was designed, there was a subjective line. As a youngster who was obsessed with footballers' “heavy-weight battles” and national team matches at Népstadion, you knew what a football fan needed. In the case of the hall in Népliget, were the designs of the László Papp Budapest Sports Arena, which was completed in 2003, the preliminary studies?
– Many memories bind me to the Budapest Arena, but also to its predecessor, the Budapest Sports Hall (BS), which burned down in 1999. Chronologically, two events are in the lead, both from the BS: Carlos Santana's concert from 1982, and a year later, wegot promoted to Division B by defeating China in Group C of the Ice Hockey World Championships.Both were wonderful experiences. Santana was informed of his son's birth during the concert, so the encore turned into a jam sessionclose to midnight – not that we were sad before. In the hockey game, our team was cheered on in an irreplicable way. it was almost unreleased cheerleading that helped ours. Like everyone else, I was shocked that the facility burned down. I was in Nigeria at the Hungarian Embassy for my job when the news came in on telex.

– Did you think that you could design the new hall?
– Hell no! But going back to the experiences regarding theLászló Papp Budapest Sports Arena (BA): Sting, Bill Deák, Hobo, LGT, or Magdi Rúzsa concerts suddenly pop up. So yes, I had the subjective line, and let's not deny that the construction of the BA was a good lesson. I really like that building and it has had a significant impact on my further career. Wealready used a lot of that experience during the construction of the Puskás Aréna, and I would say what I did not consider good at the BA, we took into account when designing the new arena.

– Can you give me an example?
– In the case of the BA, we received complete grandstands from a foreign company, and their placementwas not always proper for some stage positions. In the final stage design, there were one hundred and twenty-three seats from which it was impossible tosee the entire stage.

– Then the tabloids caught on this number...
– Exactly.They said twelve loges are enough, they don't have to be all the wayaroundbecause there will be no need for them. Well, we rejected that, we took the sky boxes around both the Puskás Aréna and the multi arena, and there are two sky clubs in the new arena. The entire hallseats 20,022 people at sporting events.

– Which part of the plan was the hardest to implement?
– The constant race against time. For example, the contractor wanted to build the structural support as soon as they got the site. This meant that first we had to finalize the houseaccording to the needs of the new builders.

– What are you most proud of in the new facility?
–I love the way it is! Of course, there are solutions that have grown more to my heart, such as the unique dynamic façade design with a ten percent inclination, which is a well-received form, just like the gravel shape at the Budapest Arena. The elegance of the hall interior, which was created after great struggles, but so is the decorative lighting: it is unique, because it does not illuminate the facility from the outside, but led lighting fixtures are located in the façade mantle. This allowscreating different color schemes. The idea comes fromSándor Scheer, the founding CEO of Market Építő Zrt., who saw something similar in Dubai. But the implementation involved a multi-step architectural and electrical redesign to make it look the way we see it now every night. It's a truly unique solution thatmadeelectrical professionals work hard.

– How long did the planning take?
– It's still going on. Seriously, there was always something that required modifying the original design, and in the end, all the questions arising must be answered immediately, helping the contractor's work.

–How closely are you going to watch the European Handball Championship?
–I'm primarily a football fan, but I will definitely attend the Hungarian matches. I would be delighted if the arena inspired the Hungarian team. At the Puskás Aréna, that worked!

–You played basketball when you were young. Do you think we may organize a world competition in this sport as well?

– I hope it doesn't sound pompous, but the arena is given. In addition, its sports technology plans were designed bybasketball playerZoltán Judik. I haven't been to basketball games in a long time. I used to attend the MAFC-Honvéd games in today's Aladár Gerevich Sports Hall, the atmosphere of which cannot be brought back. Getting a ticket was almost hopeless. The stands were crowded, people were even sitting on the stairs. And there were also “heavy-weight battles”with Csepel and Ganz-MÁVAG.

– There was a time when the crowd broke through the gate to get into the sport's match with historical importance.
– Indeed! I'll tell you secretly that I climbed in through the dressing room window to be there.

– Is it possible to sneak into the multi arena?
–No way! The world has completely changed. In our time, there was no security personnel, but nowadays there's a whole guard team to prevent unauthorized people from getting in.

–"The great work is finished... does the architect rest?”
–I'd like to retire, put the pencil down, but I'm unlikely to be able to do it. On the one hand, my job is my hobby: an architect's mind is always on the current work, and the weekends are the moments of calm creation. If I found some good solution to a problem that had been on my mind for quite some time, Saturday and Sunday became a celebration. And although I announced my "retirement" at KÖZTI after forty-one years of employment, the company won the public tender for the design of the indoor athletics hall next to the stadium that will be built for the 2023 athletics championships, so I leave the question open... I want to help the project with my experience somehow.

– Do you have an unfulfilled dream?
– It must be a little boring that I always come up with the national heritage site in Székesfehérvár. It is the most important place of Christian Hungarian statehood and is in an unworthy condition. For almost 500 years ago, space has gaped on the site of the coronation cathedral, and we stumble through ruinswhile thirty-seven kings had been crowned and ascended to the throne since St.Stephen. No protective roof or public space above the holy site is suitable. I proposed a contemporarily formulated cathedral there, displaying the thirty-seven kings on artfully formulated flags, as seen abroad in the coronation buildings. We even made a movie about this vision. But I'm seriously thinking about writing a book about all the work that's been achieved and that's been left in the drawer. I owe it to myself.