Red Box Bar in Budapest
BUDAPEST (HU) - Over the past decade, Budapest has become increasingly popular as a nightlife city. The relatively cheap food and drink prices, combined with low-cost European airlines, have contributed to this to a large extent. Many vacant buildings in the centre of the city's Pest district have been rebuilt with minimal resources into (temporary) cafés and trendy clubs. In recent years, new bars have opened that still exude the raw, industrial feel of these 'ruin bars', but now with more stylish design. Architecture studio 81font has designed a large number of these night-time entertainment options, among them Trafiq, Dob3, Mazel-Tov, Terminal, Pivo Bar, and the attractive Doboz Bar.
The latter is a quite popular bar situated in the 7th district of Budapest, the former Jewish neighbourhood of Város Erzsébet. The name, Doboz ('box'), refers to the project's most striking spatial intervention, a bright red box that the designers placed in the courtyard of the late 19th-century building. Softly illuminated in the evenings, the box sits next to an expansive bar area that can accommodate diverse entertainment. Opposite the box, in the open patio, is a 250-year-old tree where 'King Kong' ascends. This wooden sculpture, made of hundreds of slats, is the work of artist Gábor Miklos Szoke.
Similar to Trafiq, architect Péter Szendrő of 81font used recycled construction materials for the decor and furnishing of Doboz. For example, the washroom doors are lined with 100-year-old Zsolnay porcelain from Pécs. Furthermore, a large part of the furniture was purchased from the city's various flea markets. On an average night there are about a thousand visitors in the club, spread through the red box, the charming courtyard, and the assorted rooms of this eclectic historical building.
