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The history of Hungarian architecture in the 20th century developed between the opposite poles of traditionalism and modernity, or the search for national identity and international validity. Between 1876 and 1919, Hungary constituted one of the two states of the multinational Habsburg Empire, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. The first two decades of the century were a period of the pluralism of styles. Beside the neostyles, such as Gothic Revival, neo-Renaissance, and their idiosyncratic variations, the most important tendencies were Art Nouveau, early modernism, and National Romanticism. The key monument of monumental historicism is the Parliament Building (1885–1904) on the Danube riverfront in Budapest by Imre Steindl. In Hungary, Art Nouveau architects developed forms that are still rooted in historicism but used floral ornaments and allegorical sculptural details. The major representative of this widespread and popular style was the Budapest office of Aladár Kármán and Gyula Ullmann (apartment house, 1899–1901, on Perczel Mór Street in Budapest). The biomorphism of French Art Nouveau was very rare in Hungary; its main example is the Reök Palace (1906–07, Ede Magyar) in Szeged. Ödön Lechner, the most discussed and most influential figure of the Hungarian "national style" at the turn of the century, was known for his highly individual ornamental language using the lessons of Oriental, primarily Indian, architecture. His most important works in Budapest are the Museum of Applied Art (1892–96), the Geological Institute (1899), and the Postal Savings Bank (1899–1901). Lechner's colorful facades, clad with glazed terra-cotta (known as Pyrogranite), attracted many followers who erected large public buildings in other Hungarian towns, such as the City Hall (1907) in Szabadka (present-day Subotica, Yugoslavia) and the Palace of Culture (1910) in Marosvásárhely (present-day Tirgu Mureș, Romania), both by Marcell Komor and Dezső Jakab. and the County Hall (1913) in Debrecen by Zoltán Bálint and Lajos Jámbor. József Vágó worked for Lechner early in his career, but he soon became influenced by the efforts of early modernism in Vienna by the architecture of Otto Wagner and Josef Hoffmann (toy store "Árkád Bazár," 1909, in Budapest).
Around 1908, a group of young architects pursuing the issue of a national style rejected Lechner's ornamentalism and urged architects to study the vernacular art and architecture of the Hungarian village. Known as the "Young Ones," they initiated National Romanticism in Hungary in close connection with similar tendencies in Scandinavia, first of all in Finland. They were also influenced by the goals of the English Arts and Crafts movement, the writings of John Ruskin, and the designs of William Morris. An interest for picturesque massing and for richer connections with the surrounding landscape or urban environment as well as the use of natural materials such as natural stone and wood characterize their buildings (Church, 1908–09, in Zebegény, Károly Kós and Béla Jánszky; Wekerle Colony, 1912–13, in Budapest, Károly Kós, Béla Eberling, and others; apartment building of the Reformed Church, 1911, in Kecskemét, Valér Mende; Elementary School, 1912, in Kiskunhalas, Dénes Györgyi; Protestant Church, 1913, in Kolozsvár (today Cluj, Romania) Károly Kós.
István Medgyaszay attempted to synthesize efforts of the national style with the aesthetics of Vienna modernism. He studied in the school of Otto Wagner but also participated in the field-work documenting the art of Transylvanian villages in the region of Kalotaszeg. His intention was to develop a modern aesthetic for reinforced-concrete structures based on the instinctive logic of vernacular wooden constructions. The main results of this search are the theaters in Veszprém (1908) and Sopron (1909) and the Catholic Church (1911) in Rárosmúlyad (present-day Mul'a, Slovakia).
The buildings of Béla Lajta and Béla Málnai that were executed around 1910 represent a major achievement of early modernism in Hungary. Preferring durable materials such as brick and stone and using ornament sparingly, their buildings were esteemed by representatives of the avant-garde after the war (Commercial School, 1912, and Rózsavölgyi Store, 1911–13, both in Budapest, Béla Lajta; apartment house, 1911, on Eötvös Street in Budapest, Béla Málnai). Around 1910, classical references start to appear in the work of both offices (apartment block, 1910, on Visegrádi Street, Béla Málnai and Gyula Haász).
Building activity radically decreased during World War I (1914–18). The Austro-Hungarian monarchy lost the war and broke up into smaller national states. With the peace treaty of Trianon (1920), Hungary lost two-thirds of its historic territory to the surrounding countries. In a very difficult situation, Hungary's conservative government managed to restore the economy by the 1930s. After a failed attempt to introduce a Soviet-style "Republic of Councils" in 1919, the political restoration forced left-wing intellectuals such as László Moholy-Nagy, Marcel Breuer, and Farkas Molnár out of the country; they became important figures of the international avant-garde. In Hungary during the 1920s, a conservative neobaroque style dominated (Déry Museum, 1926, in Debrecen, Dénes Györgyi and Aladár Münnich; Franciscan Monastery, 1927, in Zalaegerszeg, Iván Kotsis). In the interwar period, new universities were built using an eclectic language of form in Szeged, Debrecen, and Pécs to replace lost centers of higher education. Some of the most attractive ensembles were created by architects who studied the Nordic Romanticism of Scandinavian countries, such as the Cathedral Square (1930) in Szeged by Béla Rerich. In 1928, the cities of Pécs and Győr organized urban competitions for their master plans of future development. The artistic reconstruction of the baroque city center (1938) of Székesfehérvár by Iván Kotsis was a very successful urban intervention. Kotsis strengthened the historic image of the city by transforming buildings and public squares by careful interventions. The cultural and political connections with Italy were intensive. Novecento architecture influenced not only ecclesiastical architecture but also office buildings, such as the Hungarian Credit Bank (1938) in Debrecen by Jenő Padányi Gulyás.
After 1925, as the political climate became more liberal, some representatives of the avant-garde, such as Farkas Molnár and Fred Forbát, returned to Hungary. Joining forces with other followers of modernism, such as Pál Ligeti and József Fischer, they erected a number of villas and smaller apartment buildings for open-minded intellectuals (Schwarz House, 1932, in Szeged and Villa, 1932, on Lejtő Street in Budapest, Farkas Molnár; villa on Csatárka Street in Budapest, József Fischer). The social utopia of modernism was represented by the Hungarian CIAM (Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne) group with Farkas Molnár as its leader. The group organized exhibitions to demonstrate the connections between architecture, housing conditions, and social inequality. As by the mid-1930s modernism had abandoned its political goals, the style became increasingly popular in larger Hungarian cities. The office of Béla Hofstätter and Ferenc Domány realized large apartment blocks using innovative technology and new materials to provide luxurious dwellings (Dunapark apartment building, 1937, in Budapest). The airport (1936) in Budaörs by Virgil Bierbauer and László Králik also shows a freer application of modernist aesthetic principles than before. Many summerhouses and hotels in natural environment were built using regional materials, especially natural stone (Mecsek Hotel, 1936, in Pécs, László Lauber and István Nyíri; Summerhouse, 1936, in Mecsek at Pécs, Fred Forbát).
During World War II, many Hungarian cities suffered serious damage. After the war, great efforts were made to restore infrastructure, buildings, and factories. In the first years after the war, the influence of Le Corbusier was obvious in many new structures (Trade Union Headquarters, 1949, in Budapest, Lajos Gádoros, Gábor Preisich, and others). However, Hungary was situated within the zone of Soviet interest, and this helped the Communist Party assume political power in 1948. The party made radical changes in political and economic structure and abandoned a market economy (1948–89). The centralized plan economy forced the development of industry. During the 1950s, large-scale centers of heavy industry were built next to small, traditional settlements, such as Kazincbarcika, Ajka, Várpalota, Komló, Tatabánya, Ózd, and Pécs in coal-mining, metallurgical, and steel production areas. Sztalinváros (present-day Dunaujváros), a "socialist city" (master plan, 1950, Tibor Weiner), and the University of Heavy Industry in Miskolc (1952, István Janák, György Jánossy, and others) were newly founded. Design and construction, like the whole economy, were nationalized and organized in large offices. In 1951, the Communist Party declared functionalist modern architecture cosmopolitan and decadent; Hungarian architecture now had the task to express the values of socialism. Architects studied the tradition of Hungarian classicism and used the lessons of the Scandinavian neoclassicism of Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz to avoid the imitation of more monumental Russian models. The most convincing examples of this tendency are the Cultural Center (1952) in Tolna by Béla Pintér, the Country Hall (1952) in Debrecen by Péter Molnár, the Mining School (1953) in Várpalota by Gyula Rimanóczy, the Institute building "R" (1955) of the Technical University in Budapest by Gyula Rimanóczy, and the County Hall (1953) in Salgótarján by Pál Németh.
Modern architecture had slowly returned, already before the failed revolution against Communism in 1956. A process of liberalization started, and a productivist approach to modernism dominated Hungarian architecture from the 1960s on. Industrial architecture achieved international recognition; engineers and architects of the planning office IPARTERV designed industrial plants for the whole country, such as the heating plant (1959) in Pécsújhely by Gyula Mátrai, the cold-storage warehouse (1960) in Miskolc by László Csaba, and the Debrecen Cannery (1969) by Lajos Földesi. The construction of public health and higher education, cultural centers, trade union holiday hotels, and kindergartens and schools started on a larger scale, mostly using standardized plans and prefabrication. The spread of the International Style is represented by the Tátika Restaurant (1961) in Badacsony by Ferenc Cullmeyer, the Hotel (1962) in Kecskemét by István Janáky, the University of Agriculture (1963) in Debrecen by Tibor Mikolás, the Hospital (1964) in Dunaujváros by Zoltán Farkasdy, hotels (1964) in Siófok by Endre Czigler, and the City Center (1965) in Salgótarján by Géza Magyar and György Szrogh. Regionalism was present in projects such as the Observatory (1964) on Piszkéstető mountain by György Szrogh and the Cultural Center (1969) in Orgovány by Károly Jurcsik. In 1968, a reform program was introduced to liberalize the economy. The monotony of prefabricated-concrete housing estates all over the country triggered increasing criticism. György Csete emphasized the role of ornament in humanizing large-scale housing construction in Pécs. The organic movement of Imre Makovecz, which soon gained international recognition, was also the result of the dissatisfaction with bureaucratic design methods. Makovecz and his young followers, Dezső Ekler, Sándor Dévényi, Tamás Nagy, and others, studied the anthroposophy of Rudolf Steiner and created a biomorphic architecture. The dominance of spectacular, shingle-covered roofs over circular or free-shaped plans is a significant characteristic of their architecture (Town-Center, 1984, in Zalaszentlászló and Catholic Church, 1987, in Paks, both by Imre Makovecz). The Bull's Head House (1988) in Pécs by Sándor Dévényi shows how Makovecz's growing success and the rise of Postmodernism in the West could result in an excessive use of ornamental forms. The regionalists were seeking at the same time more modest means of expression using stone, brick, or wood (Greek-Catholic Church, 1983, in Edelény, Ferenc Török; Schaár Museum, 1986, in Pécs, István Janáky, Jr.; Forest School, 1996, in Visegrád, Gábor Turányi). The VIDEOTON Cultural Center (1884) in Székesfehérvár by Péter Reimholz is a significant work of structuralism.
After the political change in 1989, the introduction of a free-market economy and a democratic government changed the organization of architectural design and building construction. The large state-owned planning offices disappeared, and private ones emerged. Multinational firms started to build headquarters or remodeled existing structures. Although the organic architecture of Imre Makovecz and his followers is still alive, the latest examples of American and Western European architecture are carefully studied; deconstructivism and High-Tech have their followers (VIDEOTON Compact Discs Workshop, 1989, in Székesfehérvár, János Dobai; Glaxo Wellcome Building, 1997, in Törökbálint, László Szász). Ecclesiastic architecture has also produced remarkable results (Catholic Church and School Center, 1995, in Miskolc, István Ferencz; Lutheran Church, 1996, in Dunaújváros, Tamás Nagy; Catholic High School and Dormitory, 1998, in Szeged, János Golda and Attila Madzin). Modern aesthetics and traditional craftsmanship characterize the small-scale buildings of the Farm for Disabled Children and Adolescents (1999) in Perbál by Péter Janesch and Tamás Karácsony.
KATALIN MORAVÁNSZKY-GYÖNGY AND ÁKOS MORAVÁNSZKY
Sennott R.S. Encyclopedia of twentieth century architecture, Vol.2 (G-O). Fitzroy Dearborn., 2005. |
