Communal Fruit Processing Plant, Markóc

Concept, archtiecture and text: Veronika Holczer
Photos: Sári Ember, Veronika Holczer

The first version of the scheme was made as a diploma work back in 2011. My ambition as a designer then was to spend a longer period in a poor village, take part in local life, and work out an architectural scheme to react to a local issue based on my observations. After spending more or less time in several villages, to closer inspect poverty and discrimination, the reality of the periphery of Hungarian society, I actively participated in the life of the locals and tried my best to help wherever I could. In Markóc, however, it was not poverty that struck me, but the ambition of the locals to do and to be active to find solutions to typical problems of the countryside: it is a magical site with magical people in a hidden corner of the country. The essence of my diploma work was to minimize the costs of construction and maintenance, and being aware of the fact that where there is little, even the cheap is regarded a luxury, we ambitioned to build the ultimate building to the extent that the financial resources at our disposal – especially via tendering – allowed. The first stage of the project was completed in the summer of 2011 with the help of a team of contractors from the region, whose work was assisted by voluntary university students specialized in architecture during their summer traineeship. As a result, the roof structure was entirely reconstructed, deteriorated sections of the walls were rebuilt, and all the outer walls were reinforced with ferro-concrete.

Consultants at the university: Mihály Balázs DLA (architecture), dr. Erzsébet Lányi (structure), Miklós Armuth (statics), János Viczai (HVAC), Balázs Tőkés (construction)
Consultant for solar systems: Árpád Simor
Volunteers in building process: Dávid Bánsági, Panni Szabó, Boglárka Urbán, Zsófi Loránt, Noémi Szikszai
Supporters of the project: Péter Fejérdy architect, Dr. György Buru vet, Lajos Takács fire protection expert