Köszönöm szépen. Vielen Dank. Thank you.

I had never been to Pécs before but Hungary is familiar to me as my father was born there. I grew up around the culture and language.  It was tremendously rewarding to be there in an educational capacity.

The people I met in Austria and Hungary were wonderful. They were extremely accommodating and made sure I learned everything I could in three short weeks. The experience I have gained is invaluable. In furthering my understanding of heritage preservation and adaptive reuse, and more broadly, the social art of architecture, this was an incredible opportunity.

Humbled by all there is to learn and overwhelmed with enthusiasm for architecture, my journey to Austria and Hungary has made a significant impression. I am grateful to all the people who gave their time and energy to helping me learn and get involved. I am so tremendously grateful to the University of California at Berkeley for this Travel Fellowship. Thank you!

Köszönöm szépen. Vielen Dank. Thank you.

Gábor, Viktória & Kata. Lunch on my last day.

This is my new friend and angel, Ilona. She was my guide and
brought me delicious treats so I wouldn't starve on my own! :)

Sztanics Gábor

Elke Krasny

Merza Péter

Somogyi Krisztina

Krisztián Viktória

Füzes Kata

Boldizsár Gábor

Knyihár Éva

Walcz Ilona

Szabó Márton + Magdalena

Simonyi Albert

Dani Ágnes

Sabine Pollack

Susanne Höhndorf

Eleonore Klein

Professor Manfred Wehdorn

Friedl Prasenc

Berkeley Prize for Undergraduate Design Excellence

Dalhousie University and
the School of Architecture

Christine Macy

Richard Kroeker

Gábor and I at the Zsolnay Factory on my last day.

Optimism for the Future

I also spent some time talking with local residents, historians and contractors about the European Capital of Culture changes and the Zsolnay Cultural Quarter. Over all, the people are very optimistic about the changes. Some are skeptical about the insurgence of government and European Union intervention and the rapid reshaping of their city. The ECOC changes have all but turned the city upside down in the construction process. Still, the new and completed elements are unveiling themselves and visitors and residents are quickly adopting them. There is also some concern that the large venues such as the new gallery at the Zsolnay Cultural Quarter as well as the new library and concert hall may not be financially feasible for a city of this size.  This is a familiar concern for new art spaces in Canadian cities as well.

Family and friends came to visit for a day: My cousin Albert, his fiancé Agi and my new friend, Sanyi

Knowing from my family what hard times Hungary has seen over the last century, it is exciting to see the revitalization of Pécs. The ECOC title encouraged the Hungarian government to develop a major highway between Budapest and Pécs. The locals are optimistic that this will help attract more businesses and employment opportunities to Pécs that is been largely cut off from the economic action since the fall of Communism in 1989.

Pécs Concert and Conference Centre

I visited the Pécs Concert and Conference Centre (designed by Építész Stúdió Kft.) while it was still very much under construction. This is only the second major concert hall in Hungary and the only one outside of Budapest. The building is exciting and contemporary. The form (or "parti") wraps around in a spriral that references the human ear. 

You'll be able to walk up on the roof.

Giant steel roof trusses.

Lobby

Southern Transdanubian Regional Library and Knowledge Centre

Pécs also boasts the new Southern Transdanubian Regional Library and Knowledge Centre (designed by Török és Balázs Építészeti Kft.) which I was able to visit just days before the books were to arrive! 

Grand Foyer

Rooftop Patio

This "hive" like space is literally an echo chamber. Voices reverberate within the hive and virtually quiet throughout the rest of the library. Pretty cool!

You guessed it, Zsolnay tile.

Ubiquitous Zsolnay and Preservation Technology

From my Canadian upbringing, the word “factory” invokes images of buildings that are bare and functional. The Zsolnay Factory looked to me more like a palace than a factory. The entire site is adorned in colourful tiles produced on site with ceramic sculptures and statues throughout. In fact, the whole city is covered in Zsolnay tile. 

Building in the Historic Centre

Zsolnay fountain in the Historic Centre

The preservation of the existing heritage buildings has been meticulous. New technology has been developed on site specifically for reproducing and repairing tiles whose production techniques are irreplaceable for various environmental reasons. 

The new cultural quarter will not only add tremendous cultural value to Pécs but has created a big commission to the factory during slow economic times.  

I saw with my own eyes an industrial operation important to the region be transformed into a dynamic public space. New contemporary architectural ideas are being thoughtfully integrated with meticulous preservation of this historic factory.

Zsolnay Factory Tour

As part of my experience, I toured the active Zsolnay factory where I was able to learn about the production process. The factory produces 15,000 unique forms and decorative patterns and exports all over Europe and the world. I watched women carefully hand paint tiles for the Zsolnay restoration. The factory has its own in-house training school that operates when they have new staff.

Pécs is a Centre for Architecture, Arts, and Academia

Taking in the public space on Szénchenyi Square.

Pécs has a long history of architecture and architects. Marcel Breuer was born in Pécs in 1902 and his legacy is felt there as is the city’s participation in the Bauhaus. The city has a multi-cultural air about it with influences from the Southern Europe Cultural Zone, which includes Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Slovenia as well as a visible Mediterranean feel. Architecture of the city includes modern, post-modern (and deconstructivist) and contemporary styles with traces of medieval times, Turkish rule, and even early Christian settlement accessible by tunnels directly underneath the center of the city (which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site). I had time to enjoy the newly redesigned main pedestrian Szénchenyi Square that is a brilliant design and lively every day of the week. I visited an excellent Bauhaus exhibition as well as a museum dedicated to Victor Vasarely, a cherished pop artist of the sixties and seventies.  I also had a chance to volunteer for an ECOC event in part of the University of Pécs, a 2000-year old university, one of the first in Europe. 

Math Academy. Hungarians are serious mathmeticians.

Trying out a new architecture lounger in the park.

Public Art

Space_Public, Publishing the Pécs Story

My main contribution as a volunteer was to be the English language proofreader for a book (printed in Hungarian and English) being produced by ECOC Pécs. The book called Space_Public (KÖZ_TÉR_KÖZ, in Hungarian) gives an overview of the city’s priorities for redevelopment, the public engagement process, and the top architectural submissions. It was tremendously interesting for me given the context of my fellowship and I was happy for the opportunity to assist. I traveled to Budapest to go through the book along side the editor, Krisztina Somogyi, an aficionado of architecture and visual culture. 
  

A Typical Day on the Job

I arrived in the European Capital of Culture office on Monday morning, August 16th. Gábor Sztanics is the lead architect responsible for the Zsolnay Cultural Quarter (as well as overseeing other major architecture projects in Pécs) and was my mentor during my visit. He and his colleagues made me feel welcome in their office, offering me my own workspace for the two weeks. 

Gábor busy on the phone surrounding by thousands of construction drawings of the Zsolnay Cultural Quarter.

They provided me access to plentiful information about the Zsolnay Cultural Quarter project, from construction drawings, publication texts, to photographs of before and during construction. During the two weeks, I accompanied Gábor on site visits, meetings and tours of the construction sites. 

Around the construction site, I saw all stages of construction from demolition, to bricklayers putting up new walls and roofs being retiled at the Bobita Puppet Theatre.

 I also saw the finishing touches being put on the Sikorski House Gallery which houses a beautiful and valuable collection of Zsolnay art works.

Sikorski House

The collection has arrived waiting to be unpacked!

I also explored the contemporary art gallery and the children’s museum which were both still under construction but the form and flow of the space was taking shape.

 I watched workers cut and place copper sheets on the new planetarium for the children’s museum. 

Canteen