The Reconstruction of Vásárhelyi-Bréda Castle in Lőkösháza

Architect: János Kmetykó
Text: György Koczor
Photos: János Kmetykó, Péter Hegedűs

Vásárhelyi-Bréda castle was built by the deputy bailiff of Arad county around 1806 after an Italian example, namely Villa Capra La Rotonda in Vicenza. The castle was traumatized twice during its history, the first one being the appropriation of its movable properties after 1945. Then the building was used as an agricultural centre for 40 years. It had a second, almost fatal blow in the early 1990s, when its functions ceased and as a result, its movable parts were demolished step by step. The new owner set out to preserve the existing conditions immediately and commissioned the designs to protect the structure as an historical building. The framework for the architectural concept of the restoration of the building to its early 20th century conditions when it was still a provably integral structure was defined by the building mass which was a result of the demolition of the ground floor of the north-western room. The architectural reconstruction of the castle was exemplary, partly owing to the fact that the architect managed the project himself and thus could monitor the whole procedure as a

General architecture: Csabaterv Bt.
Architect: János Kmetykó
Structure: János Kmetykó – CSABATERV Bt
HVAC: István Varga – Körös Energie Bt.
Electrical engineering: Ferenc Fekete
Public utilities: Ernő Solymosi
Garden: Ágnes Nagy
Main contractor: Beton Építőipari Kft.
Client: Informax EURO K+F Kft.