Fabó Beáta - Gall, Anthony: I came from the East to a City of Great Palaces. Károly Kós, the early years 1907-1914 (Budapest, 2013)

Kós' First Steps as an Independent Architect

H The Chamber of Trade and Commerce in Kolozsvár/Cluj (Competition entry), which presents similarities with the design for the Városmajor school Magyar Építőművészet, 1910.12.

H Marosvásárhely/Tárgu Mure?,

Maros-Torda County Hall, view from the town centre, Kós-Wigand II. prize-winning competition, 1910

Magyar Építőművészet, 1910.3.

H Marosvásárhely/Tárgu Mure?, Maros-Torda County Hall, Main facade, Kós-Wigand, 1910

Magyar Építőművészet, 1910.3.

MAROSVÁSÁRHELY AND KOLOZSVÁR

JOINT WORK BY KÓS AND EDE TOROCZKAI WlGAN, 1909-I9IO IN

Târgu Mures and Cluj

While György Bernády was Mayor of Marosvásárhely/Tárgu Mure? (1902-12), the city underwent immense development. Bernády reorganised public administration, created a system of new institutions, set up factories and schools, modernised the town centre by erecting the Palace of Culture and a new Town Hall, invested substantially in urban infrastructure (electricity and waterworks) and embarked on a river regulation project. The population increased from about twenty thousand to almost thirty thousand. Architect and artist Ede Toroczkai Wigand (1869-1945) moved to the town in 1907 at the age of 38 and continued to live there until 1914. This is where Kós met him in 1909. It was in this year that Kós, Zrumeczky and Elek Lippich became members of the Zsigmond Kemény Society. Kós held his entrance lecture the next year, discussing artistic revolution and national stylistic efforts. The public seemed to identify more with the folk ballad Kós had recently published with his own illustrations, but Toroczkai reflected on the content of the lecture. ‘Then immediately after the lecture Ede Wigand and his wife came to thank mefor the lecture - rather than reciting the ballad - and (considering the hopeless hotel situation in the town) invited me to stay at their place whenever in the future I would visit Vásárhely and move my belongings to their home straight away even. This is how ourfriendship started! KOSI991:IIO~111-Kolozsvár/Cluj, Chamber of Trade and Commerce

The competition for designing the new headquarters of the organisation opened in February 1909. It is not sure whether Kós entered the competition - his entry is certainly not among those receiving prizes- yet the design by József Huber was settled on and executed in 1910 in Art Nouveau style. However, the journal Magyar Építőművészet (Hungarian Architecture) published a sketch of the main elevation by Kós. It was also in 1909 that the Chamber of Trade and Commerce in Marosvásárhely/Tárgu Mures announced a similar competition, where Toroczkai and Sándor Radó won third prize and their design was realised in 1910-11.

County Hall, Marosvásárhely/Tárgu Mures

(unrealised project by Toroczkai and Kós)

The competition for this project was opened in the summer of 1909. Toroczkai invited Kós to work with him on the plans. ‘Today I received a letterfrom Vigand (special delivery - (Torockai Wigand., ed.)) in which he's asking me to work with him on designing the county hall in Vásárhely.... What pleases me most about it is that Vigand wrote to me, he wants to work with me, while he is a great artist! károly Kór letter to ida.21.06.1909.

The precursor of the building Kós and Toroczkai designed together was based upon an archetypal Transylvanian palace, with romantic turrets at each corner and a central courtyard with balconies overlooking it. The design won second place and was never realised. As the jury stated, ‘Artistically speaking it’s excellent. The perspectivic sketches of the main elevation testify to sound artistic sense. The floor plan, however, is found lacking. Its greatest shortcoming is the two narrow entrance into the great hall and the inferior staircase! M£ 1910 3: m

The only member of the jury who was an architect by profession was Zoltán Balog, delegate of the Hungarian Architects’ Association. Toroczkai and Kós informed Lippich about this near success in a postcard they sent together, telling him also that they were both planning to settle in Sztána/Stana, far from the capital. However, Toroczkai later changed his mind and didn’t buy a building lot in Sztána/Stana- moreover, in 1914 he returned to Budapest.

The public works complex in Marosvásárhely/Tárgu Mures

‘It happened that autumn (of 1909) that György Bernády, Mayor of Marosvásárhely/Tárgu Mures, who had been staying in Budapestfor a couple of days invited me to meet him at his hotel for a discussion. He invited me, as he put it, to get to know me personally and ask me face to face whether I would be able and willing to undertake making first just the sketches for two residential buildings to be built next yearfor the workers and clerks of the gas factory, but at rather short notice. I was surprised at this unexpected offer.

‘Is it an open competition?’, I asked.

‘No, I'm asking just you, personally!KOS199h106-The designs made by Kós were completed between 1910 and 1913.

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