Ferenc Kozma Agricultural Technical College Sports Hall, Mezőhegyes

Architect: András Katona
Text: Kristóf Mánya
Photos: Máté Czabán

The town is located just four kilometers from the Romanian border. This position in itself defines a specific and limited historical path for development that is difficult to tackle. The building complex of the Ferenc Kozma Agricultural Technical College, converted from a former stud farm, seems to ambition to override these circumstances. What we can see here is a microcosm at work that has been carefully nurtured: a mini-Oxford, if you wish, where an internal world in harmony with itself has been created within the framework of the construction programme. The ensemble combines the austere spatial layout with the experimental, spontaneous architectural playfulness of details. The main compositional constituent of the stud farm revitalization program is the sports hall, which contrasts with the other elements of the technical college considering both form and scale, yet this contrast does not impress us as if it were a discrepancy. Perhaps this is because the spirit behind the renovation of the entire stud farm was born out of a similar principle: the historical and the contemporary, the past and the present, must come together in a synergistic way. What is given by the fixed structures and strict spatial layout of the historical buildings becomes freely accessible in the relaxed nature of the architecture of the sports hall. Lamellas are lined up side by side along its façade, while its interior spaces create an experience that transcends everything else. When viewed from the inside, there is practically no building or structure visible – just a generous and elegant shell that protects its environment.

General planning: DAW Architectural Studio
Lead architects: András Katona, Zoltán Vámos, Örs Ákos Sófalvi
Architects: Bálint Visy, László Rompos, Gábor Kacsoh
Interiors: András Zakariás, Tamás Zakariás
Landscape: Csaba Majoros, Andrea Balogh – 4D Studio
Main contractor: Build-it Engineering