House of Large Carnivores (Budapest Municipal Zoological and Botanical Gardens)
Description
The first sketches were radically different from the final versions of the designs. The main elevation, originally asymmetric in the first design, had a small tower with a pointed spire on one side, and a perpendicular wing behind it. In the final version only the rhythmic series of arches has been retained. Its main features are the large white planes of the elevations and the symmetry of the gables. Similar unbuilt projects by Kós from the same period use the structure of the facade framed by symmetrical gables (e.g. the Hungarian Hall for the Rome World Expo). Apart from the Vécsey Country House, the House of Large Carnivores reflects most strongly the influence of C.F.A. Voysey.
Compared to the picturesque nature of the other pavilions of the zoo, the House of Large Carnivores (the former Small Carnivores House or House for Small and Medium Sized Cats) is relatively robust. Wood is only used for a few window frames, and stone is not given prominence either - the mostly red brick base and the sizeable white rendered surfaces dominate.
The building has seen numerous modifications and reconstructions, most recently in 1997.
Bibliography
Lendl Adolf: Az új állatkert. In: Magyar Építőművészet VII./6. 1909 (1–16.)
Györgyi Dénes: Az állatkertről. In: Magyar Építőművészet, IV./10-12. 1912 (1–44.)
Gall, Anthony: Kós Károly műhelye – tanulmány és adattár. Mundus Magyar Egyetemi Kiadó, Budapest, 2002 (190–191.) [1909-1o]
Fabó Beáta–Anthony Gall: „Napkeletről jöttem nagy palotás rakott városba kerültem”. Kós Károly világa 1907–1914. Budapest Főváros Levéltára, 2014 (130–131.)
