László Hudec (or Hugyecz László, (Besztercebánya, January 8, 1893 – Berkeley, October 26, 1958) was Hungarian[1][2] architect active in Shanghai from 1918 to 1945 and responsible for some of that city's most notable structures. Major works include the Park Hotel, the Grand Theater, the Joint Savings and Loan building, the combined Baptist Publications and Christian Literature Society buildings, and the post-modern "Green House". Hudec's style evolved during his active period, from the eclectic neo-classicism popular in the early 20th century to art deco and modern buildings toward the later part of his career. Although some of his buildings have been lost in the intervening decades, many survive.
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Biography
Hudec was born into wealthy family in 1893 in Besztercebánya, Kingdom of Hungary (currently Banská Bystrica, Slovakia) (his father was born in the nearby village of Felsőmicsinye now Horná Mičiná). He studied architecture at Budapest University from 1911 to 1914.[3] When the first World War began he enlisted, but was captured by the Russian Army in 1916 and was sent to a prison camp in Siberia. While being transferred, he jumped from a train near the Chinese border and made his way to Shanghai, where he joined the American architectural office R.A. Curry.[3]
In 1925 he opened his own practice,[3] and was responsible for at least 37 buildings up to 1941.
Hudec's masterpiece is usually considered to be the 22-story Park Hotel Shanghai, on Nanjing Road across from People's Square. Built in 1934, it was the tallest building in the city until the 1980s, and is still a local landmark.
After leaving Shanghai in 1947 Hudec moved to Lugano and later to Rome. In 1950 he moved to Berkeley where he taught at the University of California. He died from heart-attack during an earth quake in 1958. In 1970 his remnants were buried in an evangelic cemetery in Banská Bystrica (Besztercebánya), Slovakia.[4]
Buildings in Shanghai
- Country Hospital
- Paulun Hospital
- Margaret Williamson Hospital
- Moore Memorial Church
- German Church
- Chapei Power Station
- China Baptist Publication Society and Christian Literature Society Building
- Union Brewery
- Grand Theatre
- Park Hotel Shanghai
- Dr Woo's villa (Green house)
- Avenue Apartments
- Normandy Building (former ISS building)
- Hudec House
- Columbia Circle
- The American Club
References
- ^ Wasserstrom, Jeffrey N. (2009). Global Shanghai, 1850-2010: a history in fragments. Routledge. p. 102. ISBN 0415213282, 9780415213288.
- ^ Wang Zhiyong:Hudec and Shanghai, Photography Exhibition, retrieved 4 September 2010
- ^ a b c Warr, Anne: Shanghai Architecture, The Watermark Press, 2007, ISBN 9780949284761
- ^ EXPO 2010 Slovakia Pavilion Official website, retrieved 6 August 2010
External links
- Hudec Heritage Project
- Exhibit Highlights Shanghai Hotel and its Designer
- Laszlo Hudec fonds at University of Victoria, Special Collections
- Interactive 3D models of László Hudec's buildings created with Virtual Building Explorer.
- [1] Official site of the year of Hudec in Shanghai