Luca Poncellini's and Julia Csejdy's researches are published in this new book on Hudec life and architectural work. The english version is going to be presented as well at 5 pm, on 28th of September, in the house of the Association of Hungarian Architects (address: Budapest 1088, Ötpacsirta utca 2.).

book info:
Luca, Poncellini - Júlia, Csejdy:
László Hudec
Holnap, 2010
in the serie of "Masters of Architecture"
168p

The short introduction of the book written by János Gerle, the editor:
László Hudec (Besztercebánya, 1893–Berkeley, California, 1958), who enriched the Far Eastern metropolis of Shanghai, is one of the most significant Hungarian figures of 20th-century architectural history. The two Eastern Europeans who contributed most to the process of modernising the architectural image of the Far East by blending local traditions with European influences and creating the architectural foundations of modern China and Japan were the Czech Antonín Raymond, who is already recognised internationally, and László Hudec.
Luca Poncellini, a student of architecturein Turin, wrote his Hudec monograph followingmany years of research. Hudec was born in Besztercebánya and his forebears were Hungarian on his mother’s side and Slovak on his father’s side. He himself regarded the Felvidék (Upper Hungary) as his true homeland and although history split up the land of his birth into several parts, he preserved his dual ties until the end of his life. He nevertheless regarded it as quite natural to exchange his
automatically acquired Czechoslovakian citizenship for a Hungarian one and to work in the interests of his countrymen for years in Shanghai as the Hungarian consul proving his courage and uncompromising integrity during the most difficult years of World War II.
English, American, French and German magazines regularly published reports on his outstanding achievements; his Park Hotel in Shanghai, which was the first skyscraper to be built outside America, the Grand Theatre, which was the most modern Asian cinema, and his Expressionist brick buildings, which he introduced into China. Hudec’s career ranged from historicizing neo-styles to a functionalism blended with Chinese traditions, an example of the latter being the house of Dr Woo, enthusiastically praised by the Hungarian periodical tér és forma in 1939.
It is a truly intriguing question how Hudec found the ability while alone in an alien environment that fundamentally differed from that of Europe – where he must have drawn strength from his unfaltering faith in God, a deep-seated sense of calling and the inner urge to prove himself – to rise to the very top of international recognition. The volume presents its readers with a fascinating and admirable oeuvre.