Wedge House, Szentendre

Architects: Bence Vadász, Balázs Vadász
Text: Tamás Ulrich
Photos: György Palkó

Designed by Vadász Architects’ Studio, this house is located on the western edge of the inner zone of Szentendre in Seregély Street, right on the banks of the Staravoda stream. The area next to the bank is defined by lush natural vegetation, with deciduous trees growing almost as densely as in a forest. The built-up area of this short street is heterogeneous with a striking two wedges in the middle facing each other. The two wedge-like structures with opposite orientations are complementary ancient architectural components enhancing the effect of the whole composition, much in the same way as the first semi-roofed huts built by humans. One is the residential part with parallel, solid walls of fading red masonry cladding and a roof rising characteristically from the direction of the street with a grey sheet metal roof, whilst the other wedge rises like a green slope, a natural formation, reaching up and blending into the surrounding landscape.
The residential part overlooks the creek, and the wedge also opens up in this direction with the bedroom facing the bank. On the south-east side of the large wedge there is a spacious terrace shaded by a pergola, made complete with a private garden area in front and a few trees and lots of lawns.
The smaller wedge set near the north-western side edge of the plot has a garage, a workshop and storage room, a slanting green roof running up from the natural terrain. The original trees have been preserved, and an extensive green roof with grass reaches over the building like a sledding hill. The entrance vestibule is a glass box wedged in the gap between the two brick-clad blocks, behind which is there is the utility room and boiler room, which also doubles as the passage to the workshop. Because of this glazed light-weight inset between the two wedges the building has an H-shaped floor-plan.

Architects: Bence Vadász, Balázs Vadász
Structure: Tamás Polarecki