Prize for excellence plaque of Szombathely Bishop’s Palace was inaugurated
2018-04-18 News
The building that was bombed during the World War II was reconstructed by the consortium consisting of West Hungária Bau Kft. and Fejér-B.Á.L. Zrt.
The Szombathely Bishop’s Palace bombed during the World War II has been renovated. During the works requiring great expertise the bombed sections were rebuilt, a new visitor’s centre was constructed and the existing parts were modernized. The renovation of the Bishop’s Palace was carried out by the West Hungária Bau Kft. and Fejér-B.Á.L. Zrt. consortium. The execution was rewarded with a Prize for Excellence and the plaque was inaugurated today.
The construction of the late baroque style Bishop’s Palace which was bombed in 1945 began in 1778 based on the plans of Menyhért Hefele Austrian architect. The renovation of the listed building with more than 2300 m 2 floor space and 16,4 height posed a great challenge.
György Mészéros project leader emphasized: “It was particularly difficult to source the large monument bricks and their delivery to the site. The construction site was very narrow therefore the use of tower and mobile cranes weren’t possible. Every single brick had to be taken to the site manually which proved to be very challenging. “
In addition to the renovation of the bombed building part, roof and facades, a new visitor’s centre was also built, the existing building parts were modernized, the stone ornaments and sculptures on the façade were restored.
The unused rooms on the second floor of the existing building parts were turned into bishopric offices. Two new elevators were installed, the modernization of the HVAC and electricity network were also completed.
The renovation was rewarded with a Prize for Excellence by the trade, and its plaque was inaugurated in the presence of Dr. János Székely bishop of the Szombathely Diocese, György Mészáros project manager of the general contractor WHB group, Ibolya Tóth Miklósné Ráth representative of 4RAM Építészmérnöki iroda Kft. and on behalf of the curatorship of the Foundation for Constructors’ Masterworks: Mátyás Tutervai vice president of Chamber of Hungarian Architects and Péter Bálint, deputy-chairman of the Evaluation Committee
The renovation of the entire façade was carried out under continuous design architect’s site supervision. Thanks to the renovation the Bishops Palace’s ground floor visitor’s centre and some parts of the representative rooms are now also open to visitors
