Bank branches usually present smooth surfaces. K&H Bank’s new branch on Budapest’s Oktogon shows its scars instead. LAB5 architects have uncovered what the decades left behind in the building and made it the theme of the interior. For a site once home to one of the city’s most celebrated cafés, that seems a fitting form of respect.
The site has a past. In 1888, Gyula Steuer opened the Abbázia café on the ground floor of the corner building at Andrássy út 49, naming it after the Adriatic resort now known as Opatija. In its heyday it was considered one of the grandest in the city. It closed in September 1944; a snack bar and a fast-food restaurant followed, and a bank has occupied the space since 1992. The building is listed and sits in the heart of the city’s World Heritage zone.
LAB5 first cleared out the spaces to create a flexible floor plan. What came to light stayed visible: load-bearing elements in concrete, riveted steel beams, vaulted brickwork. In between are the gypsum ornaments of the old café, in the architects’ view the finest details in the building. The walls now tell the building’s story, and a piece of the city’s, as they go.
Even the latest refurbishment leaves its mark. The team kept the debris from the start of demolition, and concrete core samples have been polished and turned into vases for dried flowers. A souvenir that usually ends up in a skip.
For the enclosed offices, LAB5 chose semicircular expanded metal. It wraps the rooms like a curtain, separating private from public without sealing anything off. Discretion here is a question of mesh size.
The greenery has a history too. To evoke the southern mood of the Abbázia, the architects have turned to plants, just as the café once did. They are built directly into the structure, so they feel permanent rather than decorative.
The branch extends over two levels and around 1,500 square metres. The design is by Budapest-based LAB5 architects with András Dobos; the project was completed in 2026.
The exterior has been restored as well. The façade was reworked so that the corners of the Oktogon match one another again, and the building’s original symmetrical composition is back. Like the other corner buildings on the square, it goes back to Antal Szkalnitzky.
No coffee is served here any more. But the building is allowed to show what it once was.
Project: K&H Bank, Oktogon branch
- Location: Andrássy út 49 (Oktogon), Budapest (Hungary)
- Client: K&H Bank
- Area: approx. 1,500 m² on two levels
- Programme: bank branch with customer area and offices
- Architecture and interior design: LAB5 architects, András Dobos
- Completion: 2026
- Photography: Zsolt Batár
RELATED ARTICLES
A bank with a past
LAB5 architects redesign K&H Bank's Oktogon branch in Budapest
Bank branches usually present smooth surfaces. K&H Bank’s new branch on Budapest’s Oktogon shows its scars instead. LAB5 architects have uncovered what the decades left behind in the building and made it the theme of the interior. For a site once home to one of the city’s most celebrated cafés, that seems a fitting form of respect.
The site has a past. In 1888, Gyula Steuer opened the Abbázia café on the ground floor of the corner building at Andrássy út 49, naming it after the Adriatic resort now known as Opatija. In its heyday it was considered one of the grandest in the city. It closed in September 1944; a snack bar and a fast-food restaurant followed, and a bank has occupied the space since 1992. The building is listed and sits in the heart of the city’s World Heritage zone.
LAB5 first cleared out the spaces to create a flexible floor plan. What came to light stayed visible: load-bearing elements in concrete, riveted steel beams, vaulted brickwork. In between are the gypsum ornaments of the old café, in the architects’ view the finest details in the building. The walls now tell the building’s story, and a piece of the city’s, as they go.
Even the latest refurbishment leaves its mark. The team kept the debris from the start of demolition, and concrete core samples have been polished and turned into vases for dried flowers. A souvenir that usually ends up in a skip.
For the enclosed offices, LAB5 chose semicircular expanded metal. It wraps the rooms like a curtain, separating private from public without sealing anything off. Discretion here is a question of mesh size.
The greenery has a history too. To evoke the southern mood of the Abbázia, the architects have turned to plants, just as the café once did. They are built directly into the structure, so they feel permanent rather than decorative.
The branch extends over two levels and around 1,500 square metres. The design is by Budapest-based LAB5 architects with András Dobos; the project was completed in 2026.
The exterior has been restored as well. The façade was reworked so that the corners of the Oktogon match one another again, and the building’s original symmetrical composition is back. Like the other corner buildings on the square, it goes back to Antal Szkalnitzky.
No coffee is served here any more. But the building is allowed to show what it once was.
Project: K&H Bank, Oktogon branch
- Location: Andrássy út 49 (Oktogon), Budapest (Hungary)
- Client: K&H Bank
- Area: approx. 1,500 m² on two levels
- Programme: bank branch with customer area and offices
- Architecture and interior design: LAB5 architects, András Dobos
- Completion: 2026
- Photography: Zsolt Batár