Works by Karoly Kos
In 1907, the Budapest Metropolitan Government took over operation of the Budapest Municipal Zoo and Botanical Gardens that had been opened in 1866, and decided to have it reconstructed in that same
The Monkey House, the Rodent House and the Kangaroo House enclose a small square, turning friendly porches, verandas and balconies towards it.
The Bird House is the focal point of the group of pavilions designed for the Budapest Zoo.
'...in the corner we find the somewhat lower Ostrich House, with its lively colours and the surrounding runs, suitably spacious for these enormous birds.
Of all the pavilions the Squirrel House is the smallest, yet it also demonstrates the structural hierarchy of stone, timber and the tower with a shingle roof.
The Church Construction Committee that was formed in 1883 in this town on the Danube north of Budapest originally commissioned László Gyalus to design their new Catholic church.
‘It happened around this time that Zrumeczky came to see me with the news that we could obtain the commission to design, oversee and financially manage the construction of the Calvinist parsona
The shingle roof of the small, single-floor building was originally decorated with elaborately carved and painted rabbits and small rodents.
'Although the Pheasant House was modelled upon its counterpart in the Berlin zoo, our own architects have followed their Hungarian inspirations in choosing a style from the home country of wood
The Deer House resembles the wooden houses of by-gone years on the slopes of the Transylvanian Alps, including the traditional cellular plan-form of the Kalotaszeg/Tara Cälatei region.
'A smaller building has been designed to stand at the edge of the lake. It stands on poles above the water, with bamboo poles supporting the wide, lightweight roof surrounded by a wide corridor.
Of the pavilions designed by Kós and Zrumeczky reminiscent of the architecture of distant exotic cultures, the Giraffe House stands out as the most significant.
Similarly to Kós' view of the Kalotaszeg/Tara Cälatei region, the Zoo also is not complete without a castle ruin.
The Kangaroo House is one of the two smaller pavilions enclosing the little square in front of the Monkey House. Similar to the House of Small Rodents, it has a shingle roof.
“Thus, I acquired a small bit of land on a steep hillside in Sztána (Stana) above the station, and there I stuck a little house.” (Kós Károly: Életrajz. Szerk.: Benkő Samu.
‘In 1653 AD I started the construction of the herd barn, for which I hired carpenter János Bot from Sztána. Also, I had new shingles put on the roof of the old house and a new porch added.