Brutål Bar

WE ARE MINUSPLUS Minusplus is an independent, 20-person architecture and design studio based in Budapest. We provide sustainable and innovative design solutions. We are sentient human beings, we love harmony and beauty. Our interest is faithfully reflected in the diversity of our works. We enjoy what we do, and this is clearly visible in our buildings as well. Our plans are surrounded by continuous professional interest, our buildings are regularly published and rewarded with prizes. WE CREATE INSPIRATIONAL SPACES The main ambition of our team is to design buildings that encourage the activities within them. We explore new contexts and re-interpret the relationship of spaces and their habitants. We believe this makes the world around us a better place. WE ARE CURIOUS Our method is discovery: we create the setpoints of the plan from the analysis and interpretation of the given situation. We dare to ask and search for new solutions, for this we systematically research architecture and develop our own capabilities. We are convinced that the question is the most important driving force that starts a change. WE COOPERATE Our working method is receptive, therefore our architectural responses are various and colorful. We believe that harmonizing different approaches will advance our world and build our environment. WE MAKE IT HAPPEN We stand with two feet on the ground: our ideas are innovators, but we always work out ways to make them feasible.

The transformation of the Bartók quarter (downtown area of Budapest’s XI. district) is still continuing nowadays. In addition to the strengthening cultural platform, many new shops, cafes and event spaces are opening too. As part of this process, Brutål Bar has also moved into the former space of an old-fashioned schnitzel restaurant. The new venue connects to the main artery of the district, the Bartók boulevard, and its bustle flows into its interior spaces. Our goal was to create the impression that Brutål had always been part of this circulation. The smoky wall texture, the hammered original surfaces, and also the erroneous elements all affirm the organic development of the street and at the same time suggest that one does not have to remove everything that is old, it is good if the connection points to the past remain. The interior is organized by a single view, which comes together standing on the sidewalk on a specific point of the street. Complementing the steel structure of the gallery left behind by the former eatery, the new trompe-l'œil opens up an abstract, boundless space to the new world of the quarter. Its central element, the illuminated doll, was inspired by the iconic scene of Fritz Lang's silent film Metropolis. The metaphorical moment of the robot awakening to consciousness radiates the atmosphere of our new favorite bar. The theatrical nature of the place is amplified by the full-height curtains behind the portal, which gives a surreal view from the street when the bar is closed.