Church Ruins and Memorial Site, Csomorkány

Architects: András Varsányi, Norbert Vas
Text and photos: Bálint Botzheim

17 km east from Hódmezővásárhely, right in the middle of the Hungarian „puszta” the location of Csomorkány – formerly a village of medieval origins – is marked by the ruins of the church, a look-out and a memorial site. Built from bricks, thus church dates back to the 12th-13th centuries, but had been entirely destroyed by the 16th century. The new parts are located southward of the ruins, parallel with the axis of the road. This composition is defined by the memorial tower which evokes the former church spire with both its height and character.
The spiral of the stairways was built by integrating two types of standardized prefab components made of concrete. The three steel columns – along which the concrete units are strung – pass on to each other and thus follow the next segment of the arched tracery of the stairs. It appears as if the constituents of the stairway were layered onto one another evolving from the ruins. The receptive cube made of steel does not only frame the staircase composition but also preserves the look-out platform. The cube as a basic mathematical body to fill in voids elevates and transcends this piece of architecture into the domain of abstraction.

Architects: András Varsányi, Norbert Vas
Structure: Krisztián Fekete – FFStatika Kft.
Main contractor: Péter Medvecz – Kreativ Beton Kft.
Client: Erzsébeti Olvasókör