New Generation Centre, Zánka

Architects: András Krizsán (Imre Kiss, 1969)
Text: László Vincze
Photo: Tamás Bujnovszky

Inaugurated in 1969 the children’s camp in the oak-forest in Zánka offered its capacity of 3,000 in summer and 6,000 in winter. The central building of the Pioneers’ Town of Zánka receives visitors with a large ground-floor pie. This single-floor mass houses catering, the library, an exhibition room, the hairdresser’s and offices. The raster of the functionalist floor-plan, the characteristic horizontal proportions function to anchor the tower structure to the ground. The pie is an asymmetrical one: the western side comprises two levels owing to the terrain on the west side, whilst its horizontal elevation is a tiered one. András Krizsán’s reinterpretation did not rely upon the original functionalist line as a constituent that could be modernized with new materials and structures to represent the very personal conviction of the architect. Organic architecture provided expressive forms and materials to construct a strikingly different composition compared to the existing building without exploding it as a whole but by forming an integrated and additive mass out of it.

Architect: Krizsán András – MODUM Építésziroda Kft.
Fellow architects: Csontó Judit, Debreczeni Szabolcs
Structure: Medek Ákos, Szarka Gergely – MEDEK Iroda Kft.
Technical installations: Rosza Csaba – PUMPERO Bt.
Electrical engineering: Kovács Zsuzsa, Sándor Dávid – QUALIKO Kft
Fire protection: Segesdi Ferenc
Client: Zánka Új Nemzedék Központ Nonprofit Közhasznú Kft.
Main contractor: Kuti és Fia Kft.