KÖZTI WON AT THE BIGSEE INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURAL AWARDS – BOTH THE BALATONFÜRED CONFERENCE HALL AND APARTMENT BUILDING, AND THE CONSERVATION OF THE VARJASKÉRI CHURCH RUIN RECEIVED RECOGNITION

The BigSEE Award was established by the Ljubljana-based foundation Zavod Big; SEE stands for SouthEast Europe. The aim of the award is to introduce and reward outstanding achievements and works in the fields of architecture, interior design, and the creative industries. Over the years, the BigSEE Architecture Award has grown into a defining architectural award in Central Europe and a global movement that recognizes outstanding achievements in architecture and design.

“With the Balatonfüred conference and apartment house, we have earned the Central European region’s architectural award in the tourist facility category,” said Tima Zoltán. The design director of KÖZTI added: “KÖZTI is associated with many significant buildings, and several tourism-oriented developments have taken place in the Balatonfüred waterfront zone in recent years. At KÖZTI, we work to ensure that our projects represent architectural value and sustainable quality.” The two main functions of the Balatonfüred conference and apartment building are accommodated in two separate building units. The single story unit of the conference hall is oriented towards Lake Balaton. The materials of the facade are simple and functional. The balconies in front of the rooms are made of light-colored fair faced concrete, shaded with perforated fine concrete panels at places. Sustainable operation is ensured by the most up-to-date structural and building energy solutions.

At the BigSEE Architecture Award ceremony, the conservation of the Varjaskér church ruin, designed by KÖZTI and implemented within the framework of the ROM Vándor program of Market Építő Zrt. was also awarded. The uniqueness of the renovation of the medieval church ruin is due to the contemporary gate motif. The ruin is the remains of the brick church of Kér village, founded in the early middle ages, built in several periods. In the preparatory phase of the design, geodetic and archaeological geophysical surveys, archaeological excavations and a scientific documentation of building history were also prepared. The most important task was the conservation of the ruin, preserving the naturalistic ruin contour and making as little structural and proportional changes as possible. A single new structure has been added to the wall, which has stabilized it, and at the same time indicates the location and scale of the former church gate with contemporary means and marks the sacred focal point of the space. Kelemen Bálint, project director and monument protection specialist of KÖZTI, has received an ICOMOS award for the project recently.

Kelemen Bálint project director gave a presentation on the renovation of the Varjaskér church ruin at the award ceremony and received the award. Szabó Máté lead architect presented the Balatonfüred Conference and Apartment House project to the participants of the conference, thenreceived the award in the “Tourist Building” category.

The BigSEE Architecture Awards ceremony took place in Portorož. KÖZTI has already successfully participated in the Slovenian international architectural competition in the previous years. In addition to the Lőver Swimming Pool at Sopron, which won the BigSEE Grand Prix in 2023, the five-star LUA Resort at Balatonfüred, the Congress Center also at Balatonfüred, the parking garage at Sopron, the Szádvár castle ruin conservation, the Green City project at Veszprém, the White House office building, the BudaPart Homes“D” building and the V.30 Downtown Sports Centre were also awarded.