d+a | Issue 115 • Apr/May 2020

/ RESIDENTIAL / 76 WHEN THE RESTORATION OF THIS ABANDONED MILL IN BUDAPEST WAS SUSPENDED FOR SEVEN YEARS, THE FORCED PAUSE GAVE T2.A ARCHITECTS TIME TO REFLECT UPON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW. SUSPENDED IN TIME WORDS PEARLIE TAN / PHOTOGRAPHY ZSOLT BATÁR 1. While the project was abandoned during the global financial crisis, the architects saw beauty in its decaying concrete torso. / 2. The purple clinker brick reinforces the connection between the original structure, the first phase and the completed project. I n the north of Budapest, Hungary, T2.a Architects has transformed an industrial mill into a modern residential loft. Originally commissioned in 2005, the project saw a seven-year break halfway through giving the architects pause to reflect upon the dialogue between the past and the present, and to create a smart and sustainable building that thoughtfully preserves its original character. The two façades of the Jazz Loft define the architectural relationship between the old and new. Facing the main street, the faded red brick evokes the stoic industrial origins, while the polished purple clinker brick on the new top level and inward-facing walls offer an immediate contrast with contemporary appeal. 2 1