Imre Kertész Institution, Budapest

Architect: Tihamér Szalay
Interiors: Anett Ficzere
Text: György Szegő
Photos: Tamás Bujnovszky

The mansion once owned by József Eisele boiler manufacturer was designed by Guido Hoepfner and Dénes Györgyi in 1910 and it represents a unique character with its stylish details in the history of Hungarian Art Nouveau architecture. The house was repossessed by the state in 1948 and has had various functions to be used as a home for the elderly at last. The renewed mansion as a historic building is a framework of this topic. The Public Foundation for the Research into Central European History and Society, which maintains the heritage of Imre Kertész, a writer awarded the Nobel Prize also takes care of the oeuvres of Arthur Koestler, György Petri, János Pilinszky and János Sziveri. Of Hungarian poets and writers who focussed on the dramas of survival and of life exposed to totalitarian oppression in almost every literary work they wrote. The comprehensive reconstruction project restored the majority of the decorations by Tihamér Szalay and Anett Ficzere to their original beauty. This aristocratic turn-of-the-century mansion is suited to host representative events today, and features flexibly usable rooms to fulfill complwx functions.

General architecture: MD Studio
Leading architect: Tihamér Szalay
Fellow architect: Andrea Jeney
Structure: Szabolcs Fekete – MD Studio
Interiors: Anett Ficzere – Muzsai-Ficzere Kft.
HVAC: László Temesvári – Temesváriterv Kft.
Electrical engineering: Ferenc Kelemen – Kelevill Bt.
Environment: Anikó Andor, Sarolta Torma – Land-A Kft.
Art historian: Attila Déry Dr.