Imre Makovecz FoundationImre Makovecz Foundation

While Imre Makovecz was born in Budapest, lived there and worked there until his passing, he had no significant public building there. He has some buildings in Budapest but those are not the most significant elements in his oeuvre. He designed many private homes in the city, but organized visits are not possible and therefore these buildings are not shown in the recommended routes.

Imre Makovecz often said that he was the “periphery’s architect”, that he was constantly pushed out of the centre and only got work on the periphery or beyond the border. Indeed, there is not a single public building in Budapest that he designed. Even the Makovecz buildings in the vicinity of Budapest came from his years at the Pilis Forestry.

The “periphery”, as Imre Makovecz liked to call the region. This is where he was finally given the freedom to work. Most notably in Sárospatak, a city that played a key role throughout his career and in Csenger, a town that based its entire new urban design on organic architecture. Sárospatak was already home to significant Makovecz buildings 1960s: the Bodrog Department Store and the House of Culture, the latter of which brought him international recognition.

Without Mako, the Southern Hungary route would probably not exist either. Like the two cities in the eastern region, Makó’s municipal government also decided to work with an architect with whom they could build communities, not merely houses. With someone with whom they can reverse the consequences of many decades of destructive, senseless urban planning.

Among the Makovecz buildings in Southwest Hungary are the architect’s first sacral buildings. Right around the time when these structures were constructed, Imre Makovecz summarized his thoughts on building churches.

“…childhood, the Zala region, a different world. A culture that dates back to thousands of years ago, life in order, buoyant streets, lots of animals, many people, great celebrations. Nature treated wisely, and the relationship of man and nature is undoubtedly in order…

Similarly to the northern region, this route features buildings from the 1960s to the 2000s. Felcsút is home to a veritable cluster of organic buildings. It is important to note that although these buildings are commonly referred to as Makovecz houses, only the “Castle refurbishment and extension” project was designed by Imre Makovecz. The other structures were designed by his students, on assignment received from the master.