Octagonal dome hall, steam and tub baths – One of Budapest's historic baths may be renovated

The conditional public procurement procedure for the reconstruction of the Rác Baths was launched under Budapest Gyógyfürdői és Hévizei Zrt., as evidenced by the EU public procurement public procurement gazette. The aim of the investment is to renovate this historic building, which is classified as a national monument, and reopen it with modern technical features while preserving its historical values.

Due to numerous ownership and legal disputes, the condition of the baths, which have been closed for many years, has continuously deteriorated and has even become dangerous, making it impossible to reopen them without (further) renovation. The design work was carried out by the Budapest Architectural Workshop Kft..

Modern content within historic walls

The renovation covers the property located at Hadnagy utca 8–10, Budapest I. district, with the cadastral number 5973/0/A. The building, with a total area of 8,236 square metres, consists of a basement, ground floor and two upper floors, and will undergo a complete renovation.

The project will involve more than just aesthetic renovations: it will also include the complete modernisation of the baths' structural, architectural, mechanical, hydraulic and electrical systems, including demolition work.

Renewable pools, mechanical and electrical systems

One of the key elements of the reconstruction is the complete renovation of the water engineering systems, which are the functional heart of the baths. As part of this:

• 11 filling/emptying pools and 2 water circulation pools complete modernisation of water engineering and hydraulics will be implemented,
• the building is being renovated hot water production system, circulation pumps and motorised valves,
• the water supply network will be flushed and disinfected,
• replace the flood and sewage pumping stations, as well as water meters and their fittings.

The building's electrical systems would also be modernised: in addition to repairing and, where necessary, replacing the main distribution board and 25 sub-distribution boards, the entire low-voltage infrastructure – property protection, fire alarm system, camera surveillance, access control, IT and sound systems – would also be renewed.

Green roof and tidy surroundings

The investment will also affect the roof structures. The layers above the slabs will be demolished and rebuilt over an area of 1,550 square metres, while an extensive green roof will be created over an area of 1,100 square metres. During the landscaping of the exterior, more than 5,000 square metres of paving stones and stone coverings will be laid or renewed, including raised and recessed kerbs.

Monument protection and restoration work

The Rác Baths are not just a building, but a national monument listed in the cultural heritage register and located in an area with archaeological sites. Accordingly, the renovation is subject to a heritage protection permit and can only be carried out in accordance with strict professional regulations.

The involvement of wood, metal and silicate restorers is also necessary during the implementation phase to ensure that the original values of the building – its historical structures, materials and details – are preserved and authentically restored.

Steam and baths next to the pool with a skylight dome

According to the Ybl Miklós Virtual Archive, there was already a bathhouse on the site of the spa fed by the lower thermal waters of Buda before the Turkish era. During the Turkish occupation, the complex, which was expanded with an octagonal domed hall, was referred to as the Small Bath, which later got its current name from the Serbs and Racs who settled in the area.

In 1860, the baths became the property of physician Heinrich Nepomuk János (1818–1888), who asked his friend Miklós Ybl to redesign and expand the baths, which took place in two stages in the second half of the 1860s. In addition to renovating the existing parts, two new domed halls were built for the baths in the first phase. Steam and tub baths, as well as service units, were added next to the heated pool with its skylight dome. A smaller domed hall for women's baths was also completed, along with showers and additional pools.