House of the Year Prize 2015 – Special Mention

Architects: Gábor Bártfai-Szabó, Mariann Nagy
Text: Krisztián Dudics
Photos: György Dénes

The client, a married couple had alreday known the family house in Budakeszi designed by Bártfai-Szabó Gábor from an article published in a newspaper and decided to commission him with the design works of their own family home. From the clients’ side the sensitivity to contemporary design and technology was phrased matched with the need to cost-efficiency, whilst the architect contributed to it with his own experiences fed by his childhood memories, the in-depth knowledge of intimacy, the ecological approach, as well as his individual attitude to architecture. These were the primary factors shaping the scheme and the designs of this project. When viewed from the street, the house shows a cut prism-like shape which firmly defines its own contemporary architectural identity which is in sharp contrast with its environment by the qualities it embodies. It does not only differ from its context because of its forms but also because of the materials used: masonry, panelled wooden wainscoting and facework or even the roof clad in metal are not typical here by any means. However, the house does not explode the streetscape: instead, it brings in fresh air and new motifs.

Architecture, interior design: Gábor Bártfai-Szabó
Fellow architect: Mariann Nagy
Structure: Zoltán László