Magyar Hírek, 1985 (38. évfolyam, 2-26. szám)
1985-05-11 / 10. szám
CHRONICLE Instead of demolishion — restoration AN INTERVIEW WITH JÓZSEF KERÉNYI, ARCHITECT József Kerényi is an architect aged •Íti. For twenty years he was town architect of Kecskemét, which became architecturally worthy of international interest thanks to his persevering work. Indeed, this was the reason why he was awarded the Matthew diploma of the International Federation of Architects (UIA) last year. Several important buildings which József Kerényi designed stand in other Hungarian cities: in Kiskunfélegyháza, Baja, Kalocsa, Nagykőrös, and Bácsalmás. He lives and works in Budapest, as head of a workshop of the Scientific and Design Office of Town-planning concerned with the protection of historic monuments. “I chose to settle in Kecskemét after my studies—said Mr. Kerényi— for a new design office was being set up there at the time. In opposition to the ruling views of those days, my opinion was that the old, existing, valuable buildings needed to be saved and modernized, made habitable at the standards of the day, instead of building expensive new ones, in the wake of the bulldozers. This is how the House of Technology was built out of the Kecskemét synagogue.” “How did you convince the officials of the city that the old buildings that were part of the city-scape needed to be rehabilitated and not demolished?” “I prepared the initial design of the House of Technology years earlier, on my own account. I realized that if I wanted to interfere with the march of events I had to present finished plans. When it was settled—to mention another example —that the Kodály Institute would be established in Kecskemét, they asked me when I could produce a plan ready for evaluation. — At ten in the morning, tomorrow—I said, since the plans had been in my drawer for a good while. Certainly, it would have been simpler to put up a new building using prefabricated units—since the big construction enterprises specialized in this line, but that would not have fitted into the environment, it would have broken up the aesthetic balance that developed over the centuries. We have never copied fashionable architectural trends, but studied the character of the location, the architecture of the region. This is how the Pottery Workshop came into being, for instance, a building reminiscent of the peasant houses of the district.” József Kerényi speaks his mind often and willingly as an architect, or as a member of parliament. He is also an eminent stage designer. “The local public gave me much help and support in the realization of my plans”—he said.—“I think it is wrong when architects shut themselves away in their rooms, and do not move away from the drawing board. I came to learn during the past twenty-five years that finding supporters and patrons, is as valuable as winning hard political skirmishes. I think it is important that one should have a genuine intention to meet requirements; at the same time, naturally, people should express genuine demands!” “Do you think your ideas for the protection of historic monuments will also succeed in Budapest?” “I am an advocate of the historic approach in architecture, which means that the most important living art monument of man is the created environment itself. Thus, when I talk about the protection of historic monuments, I am thinking on a city-wide scale, which includes the buildings and even the historically developed thoroughfares. This is in opposition to the current interpretation of the protection of historic monuments, which is directed at the preservation of single buildings, like museum pieces. The current renovation of the facades of houses is extremely expensive and inefficient. I recommend the rehabilitation of blocks after a thorough survey. We must learn who live there, and how people would like to live in a particular quarter of the city. The success of block-rehabilitation was imperiled by the fact that certain building trades—which were no longer needed by the technology of house factories—went into decline. There are no longer any skilled men to cope with certain tasks of restoration. While we were bemoaning this, old tradesmen, representatives of small enterprises and work teams came forward offering to undertake the renovation of staircases, lift-repairs, making wrought iron ballustrades and lamps. A small workshop is now again producing old-style roofing tiles. Indeed the building industry itself also had to be rehabilitated. SÄNDOR LINTNER Cardinal László Lékai turns seventy-five Pál Losonczi, Chairman of the Presidential Council of the People’s Republic gave a luncheon in Parliament House in honour of Cardinal László Lékai, the Archbishop of Esztergom, on the occasion of his 75th birthday. It was attended by members of the Hungarian bench of bishops, Judit Cserháti, Deputy Chairperson of the Presidential Council, and Imre Miklós, Secretary of State, President of the State Office for Church Affairs. Pál Losonczi toasted the Cardinal conveying the greetings of the Presidential Council and the Government, paying tribute to the Archbishop’s merits in maintaining good relations between the State and the Catholic Church. In his reply, Cardinal László Lékai gave thanks for the good wishes and said that his personal objective and the objective of his Church was to serve his country, and the common goals as well as cultivating and strengthening national unity. Gustav Mahler memorial plaque in Budapest On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the birth of Gustav Mahler a memorial plaque was unveiled on the wall of the house, where he lived in Budapest for a number of years. Between 1881 and 1891 Gustav Mahler was the General Musikdirektor of the Budapest Opera House. He wrote several of his important compositions here. From Budapest he moved on to Hamburg and than to New York. András Mihály, the present director of the Opera House unveiled the plaque on the wall of the Grand Boulevard house. Arthur Agstner, the Austrian Ambassador to Hungary, was also present. Hungarian film weeks in Rome and Washington Lívia Gyarmathy’s A little bit of me, a little bit of you was screened in her presence and that of the cast during the Hungarian film week held in Rome. A round-table discussion followed with the participation of Hungarian and Italian experts celebrating the centenary of the birth of Béla Balázs. He was one of the pioneers of film writing, and his book on the subject is still referred to in Italy. A selection of Hungarian films of recent years was screened in Washington D.C. in the framework of a Hungarian film week. They included Péter Bacsó's You ragged life about the forced domicile campaign of the fifties and Gyula Gazdag’s Conducted tour filmed at a tour to Auschwitz of survivors and descendants. Oscar winner Ferenc Rófusz, and Béla Vajda also created lively interests with their cartoons Dead point and Moto perpetuo. Hungarian organ—for Augsburg A Hungarian enterprise won—by way of international tender—the
