The institute's new home was picked to function as a public space, an agora where as many as 200 people can gather, while at the same time allowing it to better serve its purpose as a cultural ambassador.
The building is opposite the Palace of Culture and Science and next to the National Philharmonic. It shares the neighbourhood with the Drama Theatre, the National Theatre's Chamber Stage, the Studio Theatre, the Art Hall, the Technical Museum, the Museum of Ethnography, the Academy of Sciences, the Warsaw University of Science and the Opera.
"The old building was in the capital's earlier centre, but with the passing of the decades, Warsaw's city structure has been transformed: the inner city became a little smaller, while the centre - and mainly the cultural centre - has moved, and is moving, to the area where our new institute is," the institute's director István Gordon said.
The loft on the upper storey is big enough for an exhibition, and even for a small concert. Another reception area is big enough for 40 guests, making it suitable for film screenings, literary evenings, talks, or conferences. On the ground floor, visitors can watch television or page through the latest Hungarian or Polish newspapers at a small café.
The café - which will offer Hungarian specialties unknown in Poland - is expected to be a magnet for pedestrians in the area, Gordon said. The institute's library will offer visitors unlimited internet access, which should also draw people, he added.
The popular Acoustic Trio and Polish jazz great Zbigniew Namyslowski performed a special concert at the opening of the institute.
Photo: Eszter Gordon
