Modern Art Gallery, Balatonfüred

Architects: István Lukács, Vikár András
Text: Miklós Okrutay
Photos: Tamás Bujnovszky

Balatonfüred started to reinvent and reinterprete itself about a decade and a half ago. The Modern Art Gallery (Modern Műtár in Hungarian) in the centre of the Balaton region, which houses the collection of art collectors András Szöllősi-Nagy and Judit Nemes, is another step taken in this direction. The venue was created by integrating two old villa buildings. The smaller structure is the place of arrival, the reception area is both light and generously designed, and prepares the visitor for what awaits them lter on in terms of both content and atmosphere. The steep slope towards Lake Balaton provides a full basement level towards the lake, and this smaller structure offers space for exhibitions. The dynamic flow of the staircase in-between the two levels guides the visitor. Architecture-wise, the most challenging task was to connect the two mansions with the glass corridor on the basement level, through the garden, becoming an emblematic part of MOMŰ with its gently curving lines. The main exhibition spaces are contained within the larger villa building.

Client: Municipality of Balatonfüred
Leading architects: István Lukács, András Vikár
Co-architects: Árpád Gál, Tamás Bencsik
Fellow architects: Ádám Szekér, Dávid Fehér
Structure: Péter Varvasovszky – Caec Ltd.
HVAC: Tibor Gáspár – Körös-consult
Electrical engineering: Ferenc Kelemen – Kelevill-FZ
Framework: Richárd Reisch – Frt-Raszter
Glass structure: György Stocker DLA – Stokplan
Landscape: György Szloszjár – Garten Studio
Fire protection: Zsolt Fenyvesi – F.S.Z Engineering
Acoustics: Gusztáv Józsa – Józsa és Társai 2000
Accessibility: András Pandula
Main contractor: Kis Szabolcs – V-ber Ltd.
Technical supervisor: Ordody Engineering
Graphic design: Anna Farkas