Market Hall, Nagyszentjános

Architects: József Élő, László Román
Text: Marcell Szuhanyik
Photos: Attila Gulyás

Nagyszentjános is a settlement of nearly 2,000 inhabitants located on the eastern border of Győr-Moson-Sopron county. This small town has been growing in population over the last ten years, with obvious social needs emerging. The strength of the settlement is obviously its agricultural production, which has led to the idea of a market hall. The Terrace Group was asked to design the project, and they started working on the concept in 2013. Leaving the railway station, we are greeted by a walkway lined with rows of lavender and a surrounding square, with a wooded playground in one direction and a meadow of wild flowers on the other. The building itself is linked to this small town square and its construction is based on historical solutions. Its walls are made of flat-surfaced (double-layered) ceramic tiles, its roof is tiled, its windows are lined with plank bars, and the gable walls of the hall open to the light are reminiscent of the vertical ribbed structural design of barn buildings. There is an external fireplace under an overhanging timber-framed canopy next to the south entrance, with benches and tables. The first stage of the building consisted of two blocks of houses, connected by this covered exterior space and an internal passage. The interior of the narrower mass is connected to the paved terrace by a full-height glass wall. The larger mass is the fairground itself, with exposed decking, a row of roof lights, and translucent gable walls at night reminiscent of Japanese rice-paper walls.

Concept and authorisation plan: József Élő, Veronika Kóczán, László Radnóczi, László Román
Architects: József Élő, László Román
Structure: Csaba Károly