Budapest M4: A Marvel of Modern Metro Design

Palatium Studio Ltd. Transforms Public Transportation with Architectural Excellence

The Budapest M4 Metro Line, the city's largest infrastructure project in recent years, is a series of ten stations, each with its own unique atmosphere. The project was a collaborative effort involving five architect offices, including Palatium Studio Ltd., Budapesti Muhely Ltd., Gelesz and Lenzser Ltd., Puhl and Dajka Ltd., and sporaarchitects Ltd. Each station is a result of experiments with space, structure, and light, creating a unique experience for passengers.

The stations were constructed using cut-and-cover boxes bordered by diaphragm walls, divided into two or more levels by horizontal beams, slabs, or pressed rings. This design allows for large open spaces with natural light from the surface, creating an atmosphere of free, airy spaces. Fairfaced concrete is used widely for the primary structures, while elements closer to travelers are designed on a finer human scale.

The metro line includes ten stations, each ranging between 6000-18000 square meters. The stations are Kelenfold, Bikas park, Ujbuda-kozpont, Moricz Zsigmond korter, Szent Gellert ter, Fovam ter, Kalvin ter, Rakoczi ter, II. Janos Pal papa ter, and Keleti palyaudvar. Each station has been designed to serve sustainable urban life, with the renewal of public urban spaces on the surfaces of metro stations bringing new elements to the pedestrian network.

The design process was marked by a strong effort to find optimal solutions among the requirements of construction technologies, transport technologies, and the creation of artistic architectural spaces. Research on passenger flow from and towards station exits and the most important transfer points on the surface were definitive for the general layout of metro stations. Despite the challenges, functionality was the main factor that defined architectural solutions.

The Budapest M4 Metro Line project started in 2004 with a design competition and was opened to the public in March 2014. The project's success is evident in its recognition with a Golden A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award in 2016. This award is granted to marvelous, outstanding, and trendsetting creations that reflect the designer's prodigy and wisdom, embodying extraordinary excellence and significantly impacting the world with their desirable characteristics.