Cseh Valentin szerk.: „70 éve alakult a MAORT” – tanulmányok egy bányavállalat történetéből (2009)
János Tóth: MAORT Housing Projects
Kálmán Bősze had flagstones delivered from Üröm - at five times their price - and these were the only kinds of pavements and stepping stones they used. Houses were constructed from quality materials, and with high workmanship here as well. Built-in kitchen cabinets and wardrobes were also built, which was thirty years ahead of construction habits in Hungarv at the time. Attempts were made to source building supplies by way of good organisation and bartering throughout the war. Natural gas was connected to the Stern Brickworks no. I. in Nagykanizsa in exchange for bricks. A pine forest was purchased in Transylvania, and the timber shipped back to Hungary after logging. This was used to produce beams, battens, and planks. The majority of steel reinforcement bars were collected from the concrete bunkers demolished along the Trianon borders. Local deliveries were done using propane-butane operated motor vehicles. 1942 saw the drafting of the designs for a three-story tenement-building to be constructed in Nagykanizsa. Every building of the three housing developments presented - as opposed to several residential houses built recently - fulfilled its function from all perspectives, and deserve praise. As the Roman architect Vitrvius, who synthesised the science of andque architecture in the 1st century BC said: Three things must be taken into consideration for every building, without which not a single building deserves to be praised: and these are usefulness or convenience, durability, and beauty. All three of these attributes fit these buildings. In addition to the three locations mentioned, two smaller housing developments were built in Pusztaszentlászló, along with fibreboard frame houses for a canteen and an office. Residential houses, a canteen and an office were also built in Újudvar. Seven flats each were built adjacent to technological buildings at the pumping stations along the pipeline used tor transporting crude to the oil refineries. The damaged technological and residential buildings were rebuilt after the world war, while home construction and the enlargement of ivLAORT housing projects continued - though at a lesser pace than before - all the way until nationalization. I did not mention the Gellénháza and other oil industry housing projects on account of their later construction (they are not MAORT residential estates), different nature, and for the lack of time. The company handed over the management of housing developments to the regionally competent state property management companies between 1983 and 1985. Although this contract stipulated that the character of the buildings and the housing developments had to remain unchanged, it is to be feared - as has already happened - that irreparable, character diminishing changes will be effected in the course of renovations and tenant changes. This illtracked process was further accelerated with the workers' - favourably priced - privatisation of houses and flats. One can hardly find any houses that are original in every way. For the most part, there are just one or two style features that retain the original atmosphere of the 30s and 40s, the construction period, and the original shape ot houses. VAT1 (which is the Hungarian acronym for Urban Construction Design Bureau) produced general town-planning purpose designs for the Nagykanizsa housing development in the second half of the 60s, which stipulated the protection of the townscape. Regrettably, conversions that may be objected to from an aesthetic perspective have already occurred in the course of renovations. MOIM considers the visual and written documentation of the housing developments and the buildings to be one of its task to, and assists in the preserving of their original characteristics and condition. In conclusion, allow me to emphasise a rare phenomenon, the oil industry's regional lifestyle
