Dayka Mansion - 26 Benczúr street

Dayka Mansion - before the renovation in 2020*
Source: officemap.hu

On one side of Benczúr street there is a row of apartment houses, while on the other are mansions with gardens, most of which survived the stormy destruction of the World War and the slow, persistent decay of the decades following it. The more fortunate buildings were renovated in the past decades. One of the latest projects was the fully renovated from top to bottom, Art Nouveau-style Dayka Mansion, shining bright and white even from afar.

Albert Kálmán Kőrössy, the architect of the mansion - with his signature
Source: grafologia.blogspot.com

Albert Kálmán Kőrössy, one of the celebrated architects of the turn-of-the-century blossoming Art Nouveau style, created the plans of the mansion, the last of his creations before the first “Great” War, and before the architect with a God-given talent and imagination put his pen down forever, switching his artistic career for – in an outsider’s point of view – a soul-crushing law clerk job for the rest of his life, about 40 years. He gave Budapest such famous buildings as Kölcsey Ferenc High School in Munkácsy Mihály street or the former office building then secondary school known as “Tündérpalota” (Fairy Palace – ed.), which is now the home of the National Educational Library and Museum.

In 1888, a Swiss gentleman, Leó Pugin, a French teacher in Főreáltanoda and even in University of Budapest, and his wife, Margit Dreher bought the two-entrance property on the former Nagy János and Délibáb streets, and the house on it. Their daughter, Leóna, a coloratura soprano singer, married an actor, who had also started as a singer, Balázs Dayka. When old Pugin died in 1909, Leóna bought his brother, Leó’s share of the property, and in 1911 commissioned with her husband Albert Kálmán Kőrössy and Géza Kiss to design a holiday house in the place of the old building. The plans were finished in 1912 and the house in 1913. The build master and contractor was Gyula Bíró, whose house, also designed by Kőrössy, stands under 75 Szondi street.

Balázs Dayka, actor and theater manager - the former owner of the mansion
Source: mek.oszk.hu (Hungarian Lexicon of Theater)

Balázs Dayka was born in 1865 in Nagykőrös, started his career in 1884 as a choir singer of the then-brand new Opera House of Pest. Then with a small detour he moved to Arad to be a baritone, which led to him appearing in Nagyvárad and Miskolc. He worked as a theater manager in Székesfehérvár, Besztercebánya, Eger, Losonc and Rimaszombat during the last decades of the 19^th century, then he played on stage in 1899 in Pest at the Uránia Science Theater and from 1914 until his retirement in Vígtheater. In his elder years, he could be seen mostly in Siófok.

   
Source: pestbuda.hu, kozterkep.hu

The ornamentation of Dayka Mansion reflects the Art Deco, the geometrical masks and figures reminiscent of Ancient Egypt are much more subdued in style than for example the best known Kőrössy-building, 47 Városligeti fasor, which the architect had designed for himself. The most ornamented feature is the façade, which was rebuilt from a terrace to a main entrance with fine elegance during the latest renovation. The balcony on the first floor is held by a female and a male figurine, which are standing on a plinth with masks carved into them, referring to the property owner couple’s profession. According to the Address and Apartment Registry of Pest from that time, after the mansion was finished, the couple’s residence remained unchanged under 84 Andrássy Road for decades. It’s unknown, for how long the Dayke-Pugin couple had owned the mansion, the 1935 renovation executed by Nay and Strausz Architect Office was commissioned by someone else.

After the war and nationalization the elegant mansion filled a grim function: the embassy of GDR (German Democratic Republic) from 1949 to 1990. Only the Regime Change brought a friendlier resident: the heartland of the English language, the British Council moved into the mansion. Currently the Fáy András Foundation of OTP Bank is in operation here, and it’s thanks to them that the building had gone through the careful, thorough, beautiful renovation. The foundation, established in 1992, has the goal to expand the financial, economic and management knowledge of elementary and high school students, while also educating them on planning a mindful life and career path. To achieve this noble goal, they use the most modern technologies, so the Art Nouveau outside hides a post-modern inside and technology.

The bronze statue of the namesake of the Fáy András Foundation of OTP Bank in the garden - András Fáy, economist
Source: pestbuda.hu

The namesake of the foundation, András Fáy was “the everyman of the nation” according to Ferenc Deák, a real Renaissance man and the head of the Hungarian Liberal Opposition before Lajos Kossuth. He had been a bank manager, theater manager, he managed an insurance company, and even though he had a law degree, he’s most revered as a famous economist, the establisher of the First Savings Bank of Pest by the future generations. His collection of children’s stories, his novels were bestsellers, he spoke and read English and French. In the garden today, the bronze statue of András Fáy sits, ready to be joined by visitors, who can even take selfies with the cast bronze figure of the Reform-era statesman, which represents the meeting of past and present. This sculpture is the work of János Meszlényi Molnár sculptor.

   
The assets preserved during the renovation
Source: pestbuda.hu

During the renovation of the mansion, the highly protected assets were preserved and renovated, which includes the original railing of the main staircase, the window frames of the house, the wrought-iron rails of the balconies and the Art Nouveau fireplace on the first floor, which wasn’t just preserved but restored, as well. Besides the preservation of the protected assets, they managed to create a completely modern, up-to-date and pretty impressive interior. It was important to use up every possible space of the mansion in the most appropriate way possible. In regards to this, the first and second floors for example were created, so that mobile walls could be used to change the space for the attendee numbers of the events, fitting to the necessary room capacity.

    
Source: pestbuda.hu, technokrata.hu

There was also a need for a new main entrance. The reason for that was that the original main entrance, which had been on the side of the mansion, was too narrow for the current regulations. During the planning phase, the new entrance was put in place of the mezzanine terrace. To reach this entrance, they built a marble staircase fitting perfectly to the Art Nouveau style of the house. THe rails of the new staircase was also fitted to the original wrought-iron elements, and where it was possible, they preserved the original rails of the former terrace. The main stairs in the house was also elongated not just upwards, but downwards, towards the basement.

Source: pestbuda.hu

The hidden glass elevator by the side of the house was not built during this renovation, but two years prior, in accordance to the elevators built for protected buildings in Vienna. Nowadays, the accessibility – especially of educational buildings – is not just a requirement, but ethical obligation, however, the old buildings are not fit to make accessible on the inside. This was the case here, as well: there was no way to create an interior elevator.

Source: magyarepitok.hu

Sources: meselohazak.hu, pestbuda.hu
*You can find some older photos of the mansion the website of MTVA Archive - ed.