Photo taken on Jan. 22, 2022 shows the House of Music, Hungary's new contemporary cultural landmark, in Budapest's City Park in Budapest, Hungary. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Saturday inaugurated the House of Music in the capital Budapest on the occasion of the National Culture Day. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Saturday inaugurated the country's new contemporary cultural landmark, the House of Music, here in the capital Budapest on the occasion of the National Culture Day.

"The House of Music is not a standalone project, but an integrated part of a huge cultural investment," Orban said at a ceremony, adding that being a cultural nation is an extremely important part of Hungarians' self-definition.

The 9,000-square-meter building is part of the Liget Budapest Project, a large urban cultural development project that envisions the renewal of Budapest's central public park.

Designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, the House features a vast undulating roof and has three levels to encourage visitors to participate and interact with sound and music: subterranean exhibition level, ground floor performance area, and rooftop level with museum education.

The new building is nestled amongst the trees of the City Park. The designers have taken inspiration from the synergy between sound and nature, presenting the building as a continuation of its park context.

The House's facade is panelled in a curtain of glass to create a completely translucent building that blurs boundaries between indoor and outdoor space.

Hungarians have been celebrating the National Day of Hungarian Culture since Jan. 22, 1989, in memory of the birth or the completion of the manuscript of the national anthem on this day in 1823.