The building of the Makovecz Archives and Memorial House was originally intended to be a home. Imre Makovecz built it for his wife and himself. He did not live to move in there, but the building can now fulfil its purpose by accommodating the late Master’s intellectual greatness instead of his physical presence.

The house, an independent being, had perhaps suspected what its role would be: not to be a witness of everyday life, but to safeguard the works, the intellect, and even the spirit of a true Central-European genius. The house comprises one large room and several smaller spaces: it is equally suitable for research work or as a venue for community events, concerts, conferences and ceremonies.

“My architecture is humanised architecture, it is focused on man. I always concentrate on the structure, the physiognomy of the human face, for I find in it not only the place but the form of expression as well. What makes the world so interesting to me is that I see in it everything that the Lord God exited from. The human face is an imaginary geography. That is why my buildings resemble the human face and the head, and the roofs resemble the skull. Possibly after the memory of a Chagall painting, I call my buildings houses with vision. They have eyes, eyebrows, a nose-like thing, too; with all that, I want to express the inner meaning, the fact that the building is a creature…”

Drawings

Designs

Photos