Developing the centre of a settlement, Gyermely

Architects: Péter Gereben, Balázs Marián
Text: Szilvia Molnár
Photos: Balázs Danyi

Having in-depth knowledge of the structure of the village Gyermely, the team named Gereben Marián Architects managed by Balázs Marián DLA and Péter Gereben found themselves a challenge here at the end of the 2000s. As a result, in the first stage a four-unit residential block was built followed by a two-unit one in the second stage of the project. Arranged around open courtiles, the two-storey buildings feature a U-shaped floor plan with a structure and materials serving as a starting point for the next stages of construction. Dry-laid masonry, slightly inclined roofs covering the blocks, balconies, loggias and decks come to articulate the buildings as dynamic structures with openings sized according to their inner functions. The positioning of the houses, their open-closed system going beyond themselves also defined the logic of their spatial relations: they communicate with the neighbouring stream and its natural environment, whilst also starting the efforts to consolidate the role of the centre of the settlement. The next stages of the project involved the conversion of the former Savings Bank building into a Civilian House, a single-storey pavilion-like building was created on the other bank of the stream to host events of the community and also the town hall underwent radical transformations.

General design: Gereben Marián Építészek Kft.
Leading architects: Péter Gereben, Balázs Marián
Fellow architects: Gergely Álmos (I.), Csaba Bajusz (Iii., Iv.), Gergő Batizi-Pócsi (V.), Péter Batizi-Pócsi (V.), Tamás Mezey (I.)
Structure: Zoltán V. Nagy, Szabolcs Fekete
Client: Gyermely Község Önkormányzata és Gyermely Zrt., Rita Kókai, Béla Tóth