Laszlo Hudec, architect of early Shanghai
László Hudec who was also known as Ladislav Hudec (his hungarian name is spelled Hugyecz) is probably “the” person who shaped Shanghai the way we know it today.
And along with Hardoon was another significant young man that made his fortune in the city.
The young architects life is a story of ambition, will, hardships and success that is truly inspiring.
László was born in 1893 in Branska, Slovakia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Hudec studied architecture at the Royal University of Budapest.
In 1916 at only 23 years of Age, László Hudec was elected to the Royal Institute of Hungarian architects.
Before he arrived in Shanghai László enlisted in the Hungarian Army during the first world war, he became a liutenant but was quickly captured by the russians.
He was sent to a prison camp in siberia, where he had to stay for two years.
It was close to the chinese border and he jumped on a train from Vladivostok to China and got to Shanghai in 1918.
Hungarians as Shanghainese remember his name up until today (Hu De Ke in chinese) for his contributions to the city that was posed to be remembered well beyond his time.
His works included:
The American Club (on Fuzhou Rd), The Normandie (now Wukang Mansion), the all famous park hotel, several residences on xinhua road, the old shanghai brewery and others we’ll explore soon!
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[...] A little history: The Normandie apartments were built for the internationl savings society in 1924. The international savings society was like a lottery that once entered you had to keep playing unless you’re willing to give up a significant amount of fines. It was designed by our favorite laszlo hudec who we already introduce here. [...]