BEIJING, June 11 -- In an era when Shanghai's rapidly changing skyline has everyone talking about architecture, a man who arrived in the city 90 years ago remains one of the most influential designers of all, writes Michelle Qiao.
When Hungarian architect Laszlo Hudec escaped to Shanghai in 1918 while being transported to a Siberian prison camp, he surely never expected to leave an indelible mark on the city's landscape.
But he did, designing many of Shanghai's signature buildings in the 1920s-30s, including the Park Hotel, Grand Theater and the Moore Memorial Church.
When I began writing the Shanghai Daily's "History Revisited" column in 2004 looking into the city's old architecture, I did not expect to delve too deeply into the architects themselves. Houses with architectural beauty and historical legends were definitely the focus.
But wherever I went exploring the century-old architectural gems, there were always traces of Hudec.
Most of his works, in an amazing variety of styles, still grace the city's best streets and corners and his legendary design genius is still talked about by local architectural experts.
The life of this fascinating and mysterious architect unfolded bit by bit in the column, but even more will be revealed in the upcoming exhibition "Architectural Excellence - Hudec in Shanghai."
It will be held in one of his creations, the former American Club on Fuzhou Road, as the climax event of the "Year of Hudec" celebrations which are being hosted by the Consulate General of Hungary in Shanghai. This year marks the 115th anniversary of Hudec's birth and the 50th anniversary of his death.
"He was a happy man and also quite rich, so he often sent money to support the family back in Hungary," Peter Janossy, Hudec's Budapest-based grand-nephew, recalled on a visit to Shanghai in April to make a documentary about Hudec.
Also an award-winning architect, Janossy was able to show Shanghai Daily some Hudec memorabilia, including cheques he sent home and several old letters both typed and handwritten.
The self-designed official letterheads for Hudec's two Shanghai companies - a design company and a real estate firm - revealed his strong sense of patriotism. Hudec had used the three colors of the Hungarian national flag - red, green and white - in both.
According to a recent interview by Canadian researcher Lenore Hietkamp with Hudec's children Martin and Alessa, both aged in their 80s, Hudec was a very busy man in the 1920s and early 1930s. Alessa remembered her "nervous, tense, punctual, even rigid" father was always tired when he came home each night.
Certainly this successful man had very good business relations with his Chinese clients and even built a house for H.H. Kung, Chiang Kai-shek's brother-in-law. Martin remembered a Chinese client coming to their house with Russian bodyguards carrying big guns.
On the other hand, Hudec was a man who also liked to walk and hike and play golf. He liked passionate music, with Viennese waltzes and Hungarian gypsy music his favorites, and while he owned a violin he never played because he suffered from "tin ear" meaning he was tone deaf.
But he was good at drawing and many of his own paintings adorned the family home. His architectural drawings were also very good highlighted by special touches that softened them to be more relevant for people.
Hudec's romantic side was reflected in his house in Hongqiao which featured a gorgeously curved staircase made from beautiful materials.
"He was very fussy about staircases. He believed you should be able to put your whole foot on a step and shouldn't get tired going up a staircase," recalled Martin.
Hudec arrived in Shanghai more than 90 years ago. In 1916, after completing his architectural degree, he had joined the Austro-Hungarian army to fight in World War I but later that year the young lieutenant was captured by the Russians.
Two years later in 1918 while being moved to a prison camp in Siberia, close to the Chinese border, he escaped with three other prisoners on a hand-powered train cart.
He made it all the way to Shanghai and his life changed miraculously afterwards.
Hudec made fortune out of his architectural talents and enjoyed a wealthy life in Shanghai.
He lived in villas with huge gardens, his family ate only European food such as bread from a German bakery, and he had up to 14 servants, with five of them taking care of the gardens alone.
Hudec eventually left Shanghai in 1947 heading for Italy where he later participated in the excavation of Saint Peter's tomb in the Vatican at the invitation of Pope Pius XII.
In 1950 Hudec and his family moved to California where he died eight years later after falling from a ladder during an earthquake. He was hanging a picture on the wall of his new home and suffered a heart attack as a result of shock from the fall.
While he was responsible for many works, the majority were in Shanghai where he made his fortune and spent the prime of his career as an architect. The legacy of his work lives on today.
I was lucky enough to visit many examples of that legacy which illustrated much about Hudec's personality.
As for the architect, it was probably his good fortune to escape to Shanghai when he did. It was the right place at the right time for someone like him, a place where fresh ideas and architecture were mushrooming, just like they are today.
And Shanghai in turn was lucky to have such a hard-working, romantic talent like Hudec who spent his best years here doing his best work.
(Source: Shanghai Daily)
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