The grandiose design of the thermal spa complex of Makó nicely integrates with the city centre. The spa complex comprises one immense and four smaller building parts, each covered with a cupola, along with a round-shaped courtyard, fun and sports areas. Walking through the complex you have the impression that towards the end of his life Imre Makovecz actually captured a hymn of youth with this cheerful set of closed and open spaces, with a tone of opening up as an architect. There is a profound love of life radiating from the various spaces that are organized into a large hall under a huge cupola surrounded by smaller spaces. The smaller spaces have wooden cupolas supported by double crown trees, recalling some of Bruce Goff’s works which Imre Makovecz studied extensively in the 1960s. Under the central cupola there is a huge plant growing from the prune reminiscent of Blossfeldt’s photos, yet the entire structure remains on a human scale; The pool is under a loft where water is flowing down from mushroom-shaped pillars that also recall Karl Blossfeldt’s plants. (Paolo Portoghesi)