Instictiviy and consciousness in Zalotay’s architecture

Text: György Szegő

Zalotay-ház, Ziegelried, Fotó: Lugosi Lugo László

Zalotay’s architecture represents a special type and quality: he is able to draw attention to the cosmic meaning of architecture even without the mythical features of his struggle. According to ancient astrologers, architecture as a profession is governed by Saturn just like all those in close association with the material, the earth: grave-diggers, farmers, potters, brickmaker, well-drillers and sculptors. The work of architects is undoubtedly the most socialized one of all of them. To be an architect one needs to have a Saturnial character but this condition is not satisfactory. Zalotay possesses those Saturnial characteristics that are necessary for the struggle with the material and the victory over them – both in the actual and abstract sense. What are the characteristics of Saturn’s reign in general? Astrologists and alchemists associate Saturn with earth, which is one of the four arch materials: this planet is endowed the features of coldness and dryness. The drop in temperature involves densification and contraction with the result of becoming rigid and crystallized. People learnt about these processes from nature and made use of them when producing building materials. For the Modernist architecture also the theoretical analogy of this technological process is significant: they mean and represent the rigid impressions of functions in the material both in the materialistic and sacred sense.
Modern architecture has ’structure’ as its keyword not only in relation to the identity of the architect but also in reference with its object. I mean primarily the new macro-structures the birth of which is probably the greatest achievement of modernist architecture. Among the perpetual changes of life structure stands as a guarantee for endurance and permanence that can be realized by profoundness, diligence, toughness, conscientiousness, regularity and the love of order in line with astrological traditions. The high-quality creators of modernist architecture most probably possess such characteristics. This is what may have resulted in the fact that modernist architecture with its orbit becoming more and more Saturnial could come up with structures unprecedented so far.