Tunnel Installation by Hello Wood In Budapest, Hungary

“Tunnel through time” is Hello Wood‘s installation commemorating the 60th anniversary of the 1956 Revolution in Hungary, freedom fight and the Hungarian emigration to Canada.

The timber installation was created by Hungarian architecture studio Hello Wood (representing the 2nd generation of Hungarians since the revolution). The meaningful response is a thank you to Canada for welcoming over 37 thousand emigrants fleeing the communist rule. The tunnel is comprised of 37 565 pieces; each one standing for a Hungarian refugee that was accepted into North America.

Hello Wood’s memorial located in Budapest park was commissioned by the Consulate General of Hungary in Toronto. The entrance is the symbol of the spirit of the events of 1956: the Hungarian flag with a hole in the middle, meanwhile the exit of the tunnel is the national symbol of Canada, the maple leaf, symbolizing the journey of Hungarian refugees.

The welcoming of hungarian refugees was a huge turning point in the history of Canadian immigration policy that shaped the country’s open-minded attitude towards immigrants in general. Hungarian immigrants added value to the economy of Canada, like those 200 young engineers arriving from the faculty of wood sciences of the University of Sopron who helped to shape the world famous Canadian wood industry.

Design: Hello Wood
Photography: Gergely Szinnay and Soraya Hegyesi