Since 2017 the team of CAN Architects researches, educates, designs and builds. The common passion of the founders, András Cseh, József Élő, Szilárd Köninger, Dávid Németh and Ádám Tátrai, is to discover, shape and experience the relationship between community and architecture. Independent of scale and function, they look for new opportunities and responsibilities in architecture, developing their own methods in the fields of architectural and participatory design (Story Design), social architecture and education (CAN EDU, Basalt School). The development of learning spaces and methodologies, and the renewal of school architecture on 21st-century pedagogical, environmental-psychological and social foundations play a prominent role in their work.
Project description in English
Pannonhalma is one of Hungary's contemporary architectural centers. Its pledge is the Benedictine spirit, which seeks to continuously renew the 1,000-year-old history through presence, managing it closely together with the architectural imprint of the age, not only in sacred architecture, but also in the touristic and economic developments of the Pannonhalma Archabbey. This architectural quality also has a great impact on the city itself. Public institutions, retail and residential buildings all place great emphasis on their contemporary heritage as part of the world heritage environment.
The 24-apartment residential building is located on the site of the former market square along the road leading to the abbey. The building consists of four separate wings on the 7 meters high slope of the site. The character of the house is basically determined by the townscape, the meandering streets of the Váralja district, and the irregularly located houses that surround them. The building, which opens like a fan along the winding main road, turns towards the abbey, providing the best view not only towards the world heritage panorama, but also towards the Sokorói hills on the opposite side.
The building can be approached from two directions. The main pedestrian and car entrance is on the southwest side along the plot boundary, while from the direction of Váralja and the main road, there is a junction that fits into the downtown fabric. A significant part of the parked cars is handled by the underground part of the building, so there are apartments with valuable garden connections and designs in the direction of Szent-Márton-hegy. Along Hunyadi Street, the apartments look in the direction of the abbey with loggias with flower boxes instead of balconies. The two separate stairwells are connected to the adjacent wings with narrow tentacles, providing covered-open transit between them. We do not come home to the apartments by crossing the front door. The view of the semi-private spaces is an important part of the arrival.
In the use of materials and colors, the house responds to the abbey, as well as the natural tones of the loess soil. Above the travertine limestone covering, two plasters of different quality add color to the rhythm of the crowds. While the cantilevered building masses are structured, the other building parts receive a smoothed plaster. The natural ceramic tiles with the beige hidden eaves and cornice cover match the city's roofscape.
