Art Hotel, Szeged

Architect: László Balogh
Text: Mária Tatai
Photos: László Fejes, Aurél Iványi, István Kuklis

Standing in the neighbourhood of the Dóm (Cathedral) in Szeged, Art Hotel speaks a contemporary language whilst respectfully integrating surrounding buildings of various ages and styles to create a new unity. Featuring three main facades, the new house had to connect to its environment defined by three basically different architectural qualities: Somogyi Béla Street, which leads on to Dóm (Cathedral) Square, a courtile with heterogeneous architecture, as well as the huge characteristic block of the library built in the 1980s. The key to success was to use carefully conceived dimensions and proportions matched with well-balanced characteristic materials. As a result, the hotel makes firm and yet sophisticated gestures to its closer and more distant neighbours primarily its relatively light palette of its brick architecture with varied surfaces. Besides its brick cladding, a dominant component of the facade is the constructive tracery made up of vertical and horizontal grey metal bands. Glass is the third formative material applied here so as to make the house appear as a light and open structure towards the courtile with its large surface expanses. The interior of the hotel is simple and elegant, economical and comfortable, energy-saving and witty. Both its elegance and comfort is guaranteed by the components of its interior design in all the units matched by mature solutions of structural joints.

Leading architect: László Balogh
Fellow architects: Zsolt Juhász, Zsolt Házy
Structure: György Kocsis – Fókusz Kft.
Civil engineering: András Ament – Petik és Társai Kft., Marcell Manninger – Kokopelli Kft.
Electrical engineering: Antal Papp – Intenzitas Kft.
HVAC: Szilárd Kisapáti, Tamás Tóth, Zoltán Tóth – Ventosus Kft.
Landscape, garden design: Mária Rácz – Ökoplex Bt.
Public utilities: Ildikó Fodor – Fodor Kft.
Kitchen technology: Katalin Kelemenné Takács – Agilitas Bt.
Main contractor: Market Építő Zrt.