Text: György Szegő

This essay introducing the thematic issue on the 90th anniversary of Imre Makovecz’s birth aims to sketch the context of the architect’s philosophical worldview, his faith and, above all, his radiantly powerful gesamtkunst, which transcends genres, as well as the historical context of his architecture and the specific sources associated with it. A functional approach would be unable to reveal the complexity of Makovecz’s buildings, his school, his drawings or his spiritual oeuvre; these need to be seen and understood in their entirety. The reflections will therefore not be limited to his most celebrated buildings. Rather, with the intention of interpreting his buildings including churches that organize villages, The study link the works of Makovecz, who was active in Hungary in the second half of the 20th century, and his Wandering School, founded with like-minded fellow architects, with his magnum opus still in the planning stage, the Church of the Resurrection in Felso-Krisztinaváros, Budapest. The study seeks connections through this uniquely rich body of work.