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Párisi Udvar
In 1817 József Brudern decided to build a large department store . Inside was a shopping arcade that was modeled after the Passage des Panoramas , a glass-covered passage in Paris . This was probably the reason why the house was also known as Párisi-haz ( Paris House ). In 1907 Belvaros Bank purchased the property to build their new headquarter . Construction started in 1909 and the building was completed in 1913 . The the building was mixed-use , with a sumptuous shopping arcade on the two lower levels and room for offices on the upper levels . Because of the bad lights and the decay of the building around the end of communism , Párisi-haz was abandoned .
Párisi Udvar ’ s main entrance is at a central location along Ferenciek Tere , one of the busiest squares in Budapest . But the building
today is totally empty ; just a few tourists loaf under the arcades . This year the decision was made to renovate this historic building and turn it into a luxury hotel , connected to the Váci Street , a popular shopping street for tourists . At the moment the traffic outside opposes to the emptiness of the inside . It is a place of uncertainty because of its history , the sharp contrast between the present and the past condition . It is a place forgotten by the locals . The empty shops in the arcades are witnesses of more glamorous days . Those empty spaces could be used for an installation which catches the attention of passers-by and draws them into the building . It could be a light installation with the lighting of the single show rooms . I imagine a composition where the lights are switched on and off one by one . Another option would be a sound installation , which would work with the echo phenomenon .