László Hudec
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László Ede Hudec or Ladislav Hudec ( hu, Hugyecz László Ede) (Besztercebánya, Austria-Hungary (now
Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other alternative names) is a middle-sized town in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mo ...
, Slovakia) January 8, 1893 –
Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...
, October 26, 1958), Chinese name Wu Dake (), was a HungarianSlovak 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 Theatre, 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.


Biography

Hudec was born in 1893 in Besztercebánya, Austria-Hungary (now
Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other alternative names) is a middle-sized town in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mo ...
in Slovakia). His father, György Hugyecz was a wealthy MagyarizedOriginally Juraj Hudec, he changed his Slovak name "Hudec" to the Hungarian form "Hugyecz" in 1890. () Slovak architect, born in the nearby village of Felsőmicsinye (now
Horná Mičiná Horná Mičiná ( hu, Felsőmicsinye) is a village and municipality of the Banská Bystrica District in the Banská Bystrica Region of Slovakia. History In historical records, the village was first mentioned in 1293 (1293 ''terra Myka'', 1300 ''te ...
), while his mother, Paula Skultéty was an ethnic Hungarian from Kassa (now
Košice Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...
). He studied architecture at
Budapest University Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population of ...
from 1911 to 1914.Warr, Anne: ''Shanghai Architecture'', The Watermark Press, 2007, As a patriot, Hudec volunteered to join the Austro-Hungarian Army after outbreak of World War I, but was captured by the
Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...
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. In 1925, he opened his own practice, and was responsible for at least 37 buildings up to 1941. After the Munich Agreement, (1938) Hudec lost his Czechoslovak citizenship and applied to become Hungarian citizen. In 1941 he obtained a Hungarian passport and was appointed Honorary Consul of Hungary in Shanghai. 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 a heart-attack during an earthquake in 1958. In 1970 his remains were buried in an evangelical cemetery in Banská Bystrica.


Buildings in Shanghai

* American Club, Shanghai * Country Hospital * Paulun Hospital () *
Margaret Williamson Hospital The Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University (), commonly known as the Red House Hospital (), is a teaching hospital in Shanghai, China, affiliated with the Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University. It is rated Grade 3, Class A, ...
(Red House 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 *
Wukang Mansion The Wukang Mansion or Wukang Building (), formerly known as the Normandie Apartments or International Savings Society Apartments, is a protected historic apartment building in the former French Concession area of Shanghai. It was designed by the ...
(Normandie Apartments) * Hudec House () * Columbia Circle () * Columbia Country Club ()


Buildings in Slovakia

* SPA chapel of the Queen of Heaven in
Vyhne Vyhne ( hu, Vihnye) is a village in the Žiar nad Hronom District, which is part of the Banská Bystrica Region in central Slovakia. Geography Vyhne is located in the Štiavnické vrchy mountains, near the historic town of Banská Štiavnica. A n ...


References


Notes


External links


Hudec Heritage Project



Laszlo Hudec fonds
at University of Victoria, Special Collections
Interactive 3D models of László Hudec's buildings
created with
Virtual Building Explorer Graphisoft SE is a Hungarian design software company headquartered in Budapest, Hungary. As a subsidiary of Nemetschek, Graphisoft develops Building Information Modeling software products for architects, interior designers and planners. Graphisof ...
.
Official site of the year of Hudec in Shanghai
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudec, Laszlo 1893 births 1958 deaths Austro-Hungarian architects People from Banská Bystrica Hungarian architects Slovak architects Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Hungarian emigrants to the United States University of California, Berkeley College of Letters and Science faculty Hungarian expatriates in China Hungarian people of Slovak descent