Gilvesy Winery, Hegymagas

Architect: Gábor Sajtos
Text: Bálint Botzheim
Photos: Tamás Bujnovszky

Standing on St George’s Hill in the wine region north of Lake Balaton, the original structure was built to function as a winepress and winegrower’s house in the early 19th century as part of the Esterházy estate. Grapes and wine were processed here, and it was also used as the accommodation for farm hands during the time of harvest on the estate. The winegrower’s house is a unique one owing to its positioning as the building faces Lake Balaton with its side instead of its butt. As a result, the porch is defined by the view, whilst the view from the foot of the hill is dominated by the house. Perpendicular to the winepress and slightly turned, there is the winegrower’s house adjacent to it. The basic principle of design work was to preserve the original parts of the building as well as to restore the demolished ones by using contemporary means. New architectural ideas were strung along the same concept: to salvage the elementary images of colours, forms and proportions to create an integral unity of the old and the new.

Architecture, interiors: SAGRA Építész Kft.
Leading architect: Gábor Sajtos
Fellow architects: Róbert Gilvesy, Gabriella Grand, Péter Virág, Regina Németh
Structure: András Grand
HVAC: György Kurunczi
Electrical engineering: Lukács Gombás
Roads: Miklós Wettstein
Monument expert: Ferenc Bor
Wine technology: Rudolf Krizan
Main contractor: Vemév-Szer Kft.
Concrete furniture: Gábor Kovács