Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 17. (Budapest, 1998)
Éva HORÁNYI: A Villa in Berkenye Street. A Contribution to the Activity of Lajos Kozma in the Villa Architecture of the 1930's in Buda
The villa, similarly lo most villas of the Rózsadomb area of Budapest, almost fell prey to the war and the waves of nationalization which followed. We use the word "almost" because, owing to the original client's affection and care for the building, it has retained up to this day a great deal of its original character, contrary to its fellowbuildings. In the last year of the war its inhabitants were forced to leave the building. After failing to emigrate, they attempted to return to their home. After the nationalizations this meant becoming tenants. This was the year in which the division and transformation of the apartments into smaller flats began. One flat was created from the caretaker's flat in the basement, an added ironing room and a cellar space. 17 In order to ensure separate entrance to this flat, they demolished the flight of stairs leading directly from the groudfloor to the garden and opened a door (sheltered by a small glass roof) which lead to the new flat. The eastern section of the basement was transformed into a new caretaker's flat this is its present function up to this day. The ground floor was divided into three sections. A 5x5 m room was cut off the sitting room with its special, semicylindrical ending and the curved section was cut into three, for a shower-room, a kitchenette and a little entrance space. The studio flat which emerged gained an entrance on the northern side of the semicylindrical structure which has its access through a rough and clumsy-looking flight of stairs. In order to light the little closets they broke the unified surface with two small windows. To add to this flat they also nipped off a 5m section of the balcony which was separated with a panelled glass structure similar to the one finishing off the western end of the balcony. 18 The other studio flat was separated off the eastern side by sacrificing the nursery. the bathroom, the toilet and the adjoining passageway. An entrance was provided by destroying the toilet. The remaining part, i.e. the original kitchen, pantry, servants' room, a part of the hall, the garderobe, half of the living room and the bed-sitting room is still inhabited by the original owner. The first floor apartment survived for a long time, it was divided as late as 1960 by the architect Sándor Strauss who was the contractor of the villa at the time of its construction. Strauss was Kozma's permanent assistant, he was in charge of the building of most of Kozma's buildings as clerk of works. Most of the interior transformations of the villa were also carried out by him. Strauss's flat came to include the special black and white mosaic-coated pillar of the delightful little conservatory. The round skylight also survived these hard times as well as the three bomb hits which followed the arrival of the Soviet troops. The roof structure of the first floor, however, needed a full-scale rebuilding. Several pieces of equipment and furnishing were destroyed, including the marquetry-inlaid door of the serving room. Since its construction the building has undergone two major rebuildings, signs of the need for a third one are at present blissfully concealed by the ivy that covers the walls. As we mentioned, the largest flat of the ground floor is still inhabited by the daughter of the original patron, Lajos Magyar, retaining the original conditions and atmosphere to a surprising and unique degree. The present-day furnishings of the apartment unite the surviving pieces of the two stories and since the two apartments were so similar, the elements of the current furnishings may safely be compared with the illustrations that appeared in Tér és Forma írná A bútor. In spite of the regrettable "mutilation", the sitting room with its elongated row of
