Remodelling a Detached Family House, Balatonalmádi

Architect: Tamás Tomay
Text and photos: István Gyulovics
 
Situated on a corner lot defined b three streets, the residential house remodelled after designs by Tamás Tomay is found in the inner part of a settlement near Lake Balaton. Originally built in the 1970s, the building rated as a peculiar solution back in those days with its two ocner-positioned decks. This remodelling was based on taking the inverse of the upper level to create the new facade overlooking the lake. Outcuts on the corners have been healed to draw the position of the deck bracket now moved to the axis. Tomay was right in seeing that the facade towards the lake would be too neutral after completing the incomplete mass if the solid balustraded bracket of the balcony would be left within the plane of the facade. By gently projecting it from the facade, the solution chosen by the architect proves his sensitivity: b reaching beyond the formulaic composition, with this gesture he managed to turn the otherwise almost neutral facade overlooking the lake an exciting one. The floor-plan configuration featuring the original modest-size cells have been integrated into larger units of the threefold spatial row by the designer. This task was the greatest achievement of the transformation of the house: it actual shows how it is possible to create an elegant spatial configuration in a rather confined and limited situation. It has been a successful venture. The newly established system contains in the central unit the raster of the kitchen-dining area as a focus for the hall, bathroom, stairway, and the kitchen attached to the outer wall. This space is promoted to be the heart of the house, with the slanting enfilade axis of spaces opening into one another showing directions from the ground-floor bedroom towards the deck.

Architect: Tamás Tomay
Main contractor: András Kötél