A 13-member delegation of Hungarian architects travelled to Shanghai between August 30 and September 6, said Hungarian Architecture Association (MÉSZ) chairman Ernő Kálmán. There the delegation joined a conference with about 60 participants, including the heads of architecture associations for Shanghai as well as all of China. An agreement was reached at the meeting to send ten Chinese architecture students to Hungary each year, while the Chinese associations promised their Hungarian counterparts support in breaking onto the fast developing Chinese market.
Kao Csia-ming, who is heading a five-member delegation of Chinese architects to Hungary on September 26-29, said the visit by their Hungarian colleagues to Shanghai was taken as quite a serious matter, especially considering that a Hungarian architect, László Hudec, designed about 60 buildings in the city, including its famous Park Hotel.
Kao Csia-ming, who is the deputy chief of Shanghai?s architecture association, which has about 1,600 members, said the city is placing greater importance on the preservation of landmarks, an effort in which Hungarian architects have much experience.
Kálmán suggested the planned Chinese-Hungarian Architect?s Club could be established in the American Club, a building designed by Hudec and owned by the Chinese state. The building could be part of a possible Chinese-Hungarian property exchange, said State Secretary for Culture Géza Szőcs.
Szőcs said he had been promised during visits to Beijing in August as well as to Shanghai that local officials would not forget about Hungarian professionals when calling building tenders.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
