László Hudec


László Ede Hudec or Ladislav Hudec , Chinese name Wu Dake, was a Hungarian–Slovak architect active in Shanghai from 1918 to 1945 and responsible for some of that city's most notable structures. Major works include the Park Hotel, the tallest in East Asia, the Grand Theatre, the Joint Savings and Loan building, the combined Baptist Publications and Christian Literature Society buildings, and the Woo House. Hudec's style evolved during his active period, from the eclectic neo-classicism popular in the early 20th century to Art Deco and modern buildings toward the later part of his career. Although some of his buildings have been lost in the intervening decades, many survive.

Biography

Hudec was born in 1893 in Besztercebánya, Austria-Hungary. His father, György Hugyecz was a wealthy Magyarized Slovak architect, born in the nearby village of Felsőmicsinye, while his mother, Paula Skultéty was an ethnic Hungarian from Kassa. He studied architecture at Budapest [University of Technology and Economics|Budapest University] from 1911 to 1914. As a patriot, Hudec volunteered to join the Austro-Hungarian Army after outbreak of World War I, but was captured by the Russian Army in 1916 and was sent to a prison camp in Siberia. While being transferred, he jumped from a train near the Chinese border and made his way to Shanghai, where he joined the American architectural office R. A. Curry.
In 1922, he married Gisella Mayer, who had been born in Shanghai to a German father and a Scottish mother, and the couple soon had three children. While still in the Curry office he is credited with a number of designs including a mansion, a school and the prestigious American Club
In 1925, he opened his own practice, and was responsible for at least 100 projects up to 1941. His work in the 1920s was largely in the classical or other revival styles. He made a number of trips to Europe including Hungary and Germany, and notably in 1929 made a trip to the United States. From 1930 some designs were in variations of Art Deco, influenced by American practice, and 1920s German Expressionist architecture. The Park Hotel is particularly influenced by American skyscrapers, with a stepped top reminiscent of the American Radiator Building, whereas the Sieh Yih Chapel has clear links to 1920s German churches, for instance those by Dominikus Bohm.
Hudec's masterpiece is usually considered to be the 22-story Park Hotel, on Nanjing Road across from Shanghai Racecourse. Built in 1934, it was reputed to be the tallest building in East Asia at the time, and remained the tallest in the city until the 1980s. It has long been a local landmark, and remains a popular image of interwar Shanghai.
Hudec's work later in the 1930s was more strongly Art Deco, especially the 1937 Woo Tongwen villa, one of his most notable designs. After the Japanese invaded China and surrounded Shanghai in 1937, new work almost dried up.
After the Munich Agreement in 1938 Hudec lost his Czechoslovak citizenship and applied to become Hungarian citizen. In 1941 he obtained a Hungarian passport and was appointed Honorary Consul of Hungary in Shanghai.
After leaving Shanghai in 1947, Hudec moved to Lugano and later to Rome. In 1950 he moved to Berkeley where he taught at the University of California. He died from a heart-attack during an earthquake in 1958. In 1970 his remains were buried in an evangelical cemetery in Banská Bystrica.
Since the mid 2000s, his work has been rediscovered and featured in various publications in both English and Chinese.

Buildings in Shanghai

Listed by date of completion, dates from Shanghai ''Hudec Architecture''.

Buildings in Slovakia