In 2010 the Török és Balázs Építészeti Kft. architecture firm built a library in the Hungarian city of Pécs. Their design includes a “beehive,” a symbol of reason and learning which is clad in tiles manufactured at the city’s storied Zsolnay Factory.
The firm described the beehive structure in ArchDaily as “a place of abstract thinking: a metaphor for the freedom of knowledge and also, in reverse, for the knowledge of freedom.”
The exterior of the beehive is in white ceramic tiles, which set the area apart. The architects state the tiles are symbolic of technology. The tiles in the interior of the beehive are the eoasin-coated iridescent Zsolnay tiles. The structure, which seeks to house the abstract concept of thought, uses shifting light and color. The tiles sell the idea that one is in a place of fluidity, where thought isn’t confined.
The designer states: “I see beauty in the idea that my response for a knowledge center is a building where the focus is not on concrete, permanently changing knowledge but on the possibility of thinking: in other words, an empty space which can be filled with the thoughts of the people in it.”
The designers tie the building to the region’s identity through the inclusion of the Zsolnay tiles. The factory, which was established in 1853 by Miklos Zsolnay, made a name for itself through numerous showcases at world fairs. Their products were used in buildings as part of the art nouveau movement. They were known in particular for their extravagant, range of expressive in-glaze lusters, livid color in peacock hues. The factory was nationalized by communists in 1948. The name was changed to the bland Pécs Porcelain Factory and the factory produced tableware goods until 1982, when the company became independent and resumed production of ceramic goods under its former name. CFile will be soon covering their latest figurines using their 1900’s glazes.
Above image: The Regional Library and Knowledge Center in Pécs, Hungary by the Török és Balázs Építészeti firm. Photograph by Tamás Bujnovszky.
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The Regional Library and Knowledge Center in Pécs, Hungary.
Read more about the library on the City of Pécs homepage
Read more about the Zolnay factory at the Elite Design Gallery
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