István Fekete Visitors’ Centre, Kaposvár, Lake Deseda

Architect: Árpád Boa
Text: János Géczi
Photos: József Hajdú

Established in 2014, the Visitors’ Centre on the shores of Lake Deseda near Kaposvár is named after István Fekete, who was born in Somogy county. Just as important as the surrounding area well-prepared for the reception of masses of visitors, this centre was designed by architect Árpád Boa who managed to avoid so far the dangers lurking around architects: the mistake of cutting off the edifice from its environment. He followed the joint wake of environmentalists and architects from the north and represents their characteristic works. In the visitors’ centre and around it there are rows of outdoor and indoor exhibition sights offering artificial (museum) and natural conditions to observe the wild life of waters, fields, meadows and forests. There is an aquarium presenting the fish species living in the lake, lookout to observe animals and there are opportunities to participate in various educational programmes, games and events for museum education. As the centre is easy to access, and can be toured just as easily on foot as by bike (bridges, paths, rowing, dozens of electric boats, study trail, water playfield, rain shelters, lookout etc. all facilitate moving around here), the site has evolved into a popular destination of outings and an important venue of science education. The mass of the visitors’ centre is defined and bordered by many glass and wooden surfaces. The same two materials feature the furnishing of the building and its environment as they are emphasized in the boat-shaped timber stores, toys, planks, piers. As a result, the micro-environment of the building is created just as successfully as the building adjusts to its macro-environment.

Architect: Árpád Boa
Fellow architect: Mónika Nagy
Structure: Csaba Harsányi
HVAC: Attila Lucz
Electrical engineering: István Csiki
Landscape: Ágnes Szabó, Mónika Nagy