József Kerényi was a pioneer and exemplar of one of the most powerful movements in twentieth-century Hungarian architectural history. Through his work, the concept of architectural revitalisation – the protection and preservation of built heritage through its reinterpretation and contemporary use – first appeared in Hungary. As early as the mid-1970s, Kerényi developed his own distinctive understanding of what constitutes a monument: instead of passive preservation, he advocated the idea of heritage sustained through active, living use. This approach, only recently recognised worldwide, anticipated a contemporary paradigm in architectural conservation by several decades.
Among the key influences that shaped his vision were his childhood environment, his university education, and his early professional encounters with rural architecture. Growing up in Budapest’s Wekerle estate left an enduring impression on him: the world of liveable small communities, marked by steep-roofed houses and garden plots, became his first architectural memory. From adolescence he was determined to become an architect. At university, he was deeply inspired by the erudite lectures of the architectural historian Frigyes Pogány and by the courses in structural design taught by József Pelikán.
After graduating from the Faculty of Architecture at the Budapest University of Technology in 1963, Kerényi’s interests – influenced by Pogány – immediately turned toward heritage preservation. Following a traineeship at the National Office for the Protection of Monuments, he made the unusual decision to leave the capital and move to Kecskemét. There, for twenty years, he worked as a designer and later as chief architect for BÁCSTERV, the municipal design office. During this period, he undertook a broad range of tasks encompassing architecture, urban development, conservation, and the shaping of the built environment. He designed town centres and urban district plans for settlements across the Great Plain (including Dunavecse, Kalocsa, Lajosmizse, and Kecskemét-Homokdomb), and he planned residential buildings, public institutions, and memorial settings.
Through his work, he came to appreciate the traditional architecture of the Great Plain – its environmental adaptation, simplicity, rationality, and economy – and he developed a deep understanding of the interrelated principles of comprehensive environmental design. These included the relationship between built and natural environments, climatic conditions, sunlight orientation, spatial efficiency, and economic viability. He recognised in rural architecture the accumulated wisdom of generations and sought to integrate that knowledge into the architecture of his own time.
The traditions of the former market town and its surrounding system of scattered farms offered an excellent school for this outlook. In the decades of industrial expansion, Kecskemét had been a neglected city with little investment potential and a built environment deemed architecturally worthless. Kerényi was the first to recognise the outstanding quality of the city’s Art Nouveau public and private buildings and the unique, European-level character of Kecskemét’s main square ensemble. He identified the distinctive skyline formed by the towers of the churches surrounding the square and the aesthetic unity of the entire urban composition as a coherent visual system.
At a time when entire streets were being demolished to make way for new “modern” buildings, the ornate and folk-inspired Art Nouveau style with historical references was considered outdated and unworthy of preservation. Kerényi fought for years – often successfully – to save the city’s old and disused buildings from demolition. Kecskemét’s architectural modernisation is thus closely linked with his name. Owing largely to his vision, many earlier buildings were preserved and repurposed for cultural, educational, or mixed functions. By persuading and convincing decision-makers, he rescued from destruction the Great Synagogue and several elegant bourgeois houses. His major works include the transformation of the former Franciscan monastery into the Kodály Institute, the conversion of the old synagogue into the House of Science and Technology, the rescue and adaptation of the Bánó House into the Museum of Naïve Art, the complex design of Széchenyi Park and the Martyrs of Arad Park, the studio row of the Kecskemét Ceramic Studio, and numerous monuments, memorial sites, and public installations.
It was through his work that Hungary’s first pedestrian street was realised in Kecskemét. With his collaboration – and often following his artistic intentions – entire urban environments took architectural form as cohesive compositions of public sculptures, resting places, uniquely designed shop signs, street furniture, and paving. Thanks to his value-preserving efforts, as early as the 1970s a harmonious urban landscape emerged in which the old and the new coexisted organically.
Kerényi’s architectural outlook was characterised by respect for the existing values of the built environment and by a deliberate commitment to landscape integration. He regarded settlements as organic entities whose scale, proportions, history, and present together form a complex identity – one that must not be disrupted by incongruous or fashion-driven constructions and demolitions. His pioneering work was recognised internationally as well: in 1985 he received the Sir Matthew Diploma from the UIA (International Union of Architects), alongside such distinguished architects as Norman Foster and Charles Correa. On that occasion, Ferenc Vámossy summarised Kerényi’s architectural significance in a foreign professional journal:
“The revitalisation initiated and achieved by József Kerényi in 1965 not only revived the values of earlier conditions but multiplied them, revealing and activating previously unrecognised environmental interrelations. The architectural, urban, and artistic tools he employed included subsequent alterations and surrounding extensions, the removal of worthless elements, the preservation of greenery and trees, the reorganisation of traffic, the transformation into a pedestrian centre, and the reuse of abandoned buildings. […] In Kecskemét – owing to the favourable conditions of an urban policy renewed and represented by Kerényi himself – the fortunate coincidence of economic, social, and architectural development in the second half of the 1970s manifested itself in the continuing evolution of the city’s and its region’s landscape and architectural character. […]”
This revitalised urban fabric was further enriched by Kerényi’s new buildings, such as the Szórakaténusz Toy Museum, the Animation Studio, the Ceramic Studio, and several residential houses.
Kerényi applied the architectural principles he had developed in Kecskemét to neighbouring settlements on the Great Plain and to other regions of Hungary as well. His outstanding works include the Church of Our Lady of the Hungarians in Cegléd, the Shepherd Museum in Bugac, the church in Kunadacs, the Signal Tower in Pusztavacs, the memorial environment of the Radnóti Monument in Győr, the cultural centre created through the preservation of the Great Seminary in Kalocsa, and the guesthouse converted from the cells of the Camaldolese monks in Majk.
In 1984 he left his chosen city and returned to Budapest, where he was appointed head of a department at the Urban Planning Institute. From 1987 he became actively involved in architectural education, first as an honorary professor at the Pollack Mihály Technical College in Pécs, then from 1990 as university professor at the Budapest University of Technology, teaching “Fundamentals of Architecture” and “Complex Environmental Design.” He played a major role in developing doctoral education: together with Ferenc Vámossy he founded and elaborated the strongest architectural doctoral programme in Hungarian higher education, one that could stand comparison with Western European standards. Its aim was to complement the university’s traditionally strong engineering education with a greater emphasis on artistic instruction, contemporary creative processes, and a comprehensive understanding of local culture.
Since 1981, at the initiative of István Szőke, he has also been designing theatrical stage imagery – nearly fifty stage and set designs are associated with his name. He has worked for theatres in Kecskemét, Győr, Sopron, Pécs, Miskolc, Eger, and Székesfehérvár, as well as for the National Theatre and the Új Színház in Budapest – where he continues to design today. His work has been recognised by the theatre community as well: in 1986 he received the Critics’ Award as Set Designer of the Year.
From the 1970s and 1980s onward, he was surrounded by numerous artist friends, among them ceramicist János Probstner, visual artist Tibor Vilt, theatre director István Szőke, and sculptors Miklós Borsos, István Kis, Tamás Fekete, and Miklós Melocco – with several of the latter he completed collaborative works.
Shortly after the political transition, in 1991, he established his own design studio. Since 1996 – alongside his university teaching – he has been engaged in the reconstruction of the Lónyai Villa, originally designed by Miklós Ybl and once standing on the Buda Castle hillside.
Selected major works from his career
Industrial kitchen for 3,000 servings, Nagykőrös, 1970
The final phase of the Nagykőrös Cannery reconstruction involved creating the industrial kitchen. Beyond meeting the functional, hygienic, and modern requirements, the main concept focused on preserving the surrounding green area. The two-storey building’s distinctive feature is a series of locally cast reinforced-concrete lamellas designed to block the strong Great Plain sunlight, their dimensions adjusted according to the cardinal directions. The use of raw concrete, Mezőtúr brick, and aluminium window frames represented the highest construction technology standards of the time.
Chapel, Kunadacs, 1974
The chapel’s architectural form is defined by a single, bold gesture: a slate-covered hipped roof that closes into the ground like a retaining wall. From this roof structure rises the tower above the entrance – on one side forming a vertical wall, on the other continuing the roofline’s slope. In the garden stands a similarly simple parsonage building. The interior of the long-naved church evokes the atmosphere of old Great Plain churches, with wooden benches and Baroque statues. A gallery runs above the entrance, while the sanctuary rises a few steps above the level of the nave.
Shepherds’ Museum, Bugac, 1974
The Shepherds’ Museum in Bugac, which presents the life of herdsmen on the Hungarian Great Plain, displays a puritan, archaic architectural language similar to that of the chapel in Kunadacs. Positioned beside a group of oak trees, it does not disrupt the image of the open landscape with any foreign element; its silhouette rather complements the natural setting. The building’s single, central space recalls the structural form of traditional windmills of the Great Plain. Its simple shape – the conical thatched roof and the wide, reinforced concrete ribs – evokes the taut, functional constructions of pastoral life.
The museum’s relationship with its surroundings is ensured by glass walls fitted with radially opening doors, making the interior visually open so that the external landscape becomes an organic part of the exhibition. When built, the structure had no public utilities, so the design itself had to provide natural lighting. This was achieved perfectly by the architectural solution: the interior is evenly illuminated by daylight through the glass walls beneath the roof, while direct sunlight is effectively filtered. Despite its modern materials – exposed concrete supports and brick flooring – the building fully preserves and expresses the character of the Great Plain.
House of Science and Technology (conversion of the former synagogue), Kecskemét, 1974
The Great Synagogue of Kecskemét, built in an Orientalising Romantic style to the design of János Zitterbarth Jr. in 1871, originally served the city’s Neolog Jewish community. Its longitudinal, towered, and highly ornamental façade made it one of the dominant visual elements of the main square, while the interior was divided by slender cast-iron columns supporting a two-tiered women’s gallery. Damaged in the 1911 earthquake, it was restored under the direction of Lipót Baumhorn, the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy’s most renowned synagogue architect. In 1914 a lotus-shaped dome was added to the octagonal tower, further enhancing its powerful presence in the cityscape.
In 1966 the disused building was purchased by the city. Demolition was initially planned, but through the determined efforts of József Kerényi, one of Central Europe’s most beautiful synagogues was saved. According to his design, it was converted into the House of Science and Technology. Kerényi – together with interior designer Lajos Udvardi – conceived a “house within a house” structure to reconcile the vast, undivided interior with the new, multi-roomed functional requirements.
The exterior façades and overall massing were restored to their original appearance, while the new interior introduced a markedly different architectural language. A sequence of vaulted atria with openings overlooking successive levels marks the original vertical scale and leads to a system of stairs and corridors connecting the spaces. On the ground floor, a club and library open with glass walls to the atrium; the upper-level exhibition hall can be joined to a smaller lecture room, and along the courtyard façade a row of offices with gallery spaces was created. The large auditorium occupies the second floor, surrounded by a horseshoe-shaped corridor. The dome space retained the beauty of the original vaulting. The circular windows of the atrium were filled with colourful stained glass designed by painter Ferenc Bolmányi. A unique attraction of the building is the group of fifteen authentic plaster casts of Michelangelo’s sculptures displayed along the staircase. These over one-hundred-year-old casts reached the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest thanks to the renowned Hungarian art historian Károly Tolnay and were later deposited in Kecskemét in 1976 following restoration work by sculptor Miklós Melocco.
Kodály Institute of Music Pedagogy and Kéttemplom Lane (pedestrian street), Kecskemét (with Gábor Mezei, Lajos Udvardi, and János Probstner), 1976
The Franciscan monastery, built in the 13th–14th centuries, had long been one of the jewels of Kecskemét, preserving the puritan simplicity characteristic of mendicant orders even through the Baroque period. After 1949 it was used as an office building, and repeated alterations and the subdivision of its interiors had nearly obliterated its original architectural values. József Kerényi’s concept transformed this building into the Kodály Institute of Kecskemét, founded in 1975 – a world-renowned residential training centre and the intellectual hub of the network of Kodály institutes operating in many countries around the globe.
The two-storey, nine-axis building with a square courtyard and cross-vaulted corridors turned out to be of much greater architectural value than previously assumed. During the structural exploration, it was revealed that the monastery was not merely an early Baroque structure but contained far older sections – among them, probably a medieval fortification element and a watchtower. “The guiding principle of the restoration and transformation was to realise a unified vision between the building and its environment, between exterior and interior space. It was about accepting and conveying the lessons of a simple structure born in poverty,” wrote Kerényi of his design approach.
His concept organised the institution around the former cloister courtyard, introducing a new entrance connected by a reinforced concrete bridge that integrates harmoniously with the historic surroundings. Rooms open from the cloister corridor; on the ground floor are the small lecture halls, the former refectory now serving as a large hall suitable for concerts, and on the upper floor, the residential quarters. The inner courtyard is adorned by a single remaining lime tree. Both the exterior and interior finishes reflect the building’s original simplicity – the whitewashed walls continuing the tradition of the Great Plain. Artistic elements complete the unity of the space: Gábor Mezei’s furniture, János Probstner’s contemporary ceramics, Miklós Borsos’s bronze portrait of Kodály, and specially designed carpets make the institute a true Gesamtkunstwerk.
The restoration was closely linked to the full reconstruction of Kéttemplom Lane. The commercial street, built in a uniform eclectic style by 1894, had long concealed the monastery from view. From the early 1970s the street had stood vacant, its later, valueless additions were demolished as part of the project. The monastery thus regained its rightful place in the urban fabric. The unified ceramic paving, the repainted façades, the café portals, lighting fixtures, wrought-iron signs, gates, and the overall traffic and design concept all testify to Kerényi’s approach as an architect who thought in terms of broader urban and visual relationships. Not least, this street became the first pedestrian street in Hungary.
Museum of Naive Arts, Kecskemét, 1976
Amid modern buildings, the deteriorated Bánó House – saved from demolition – became home to the Museum of Naive Arts, which opened in 1976. Known locally as the “Stork House”, the high-walled Baroque mansion, partly dating from the 18th and early 19th centuries, was a characteristic example of the small noble houses of the Great Plain’s market towns. Its distinctive appearance derives from the truncated gable roof and shuttered windows of the tall attic level.
The museum’s foundation was initiated in 1969 by Domokos Moldován at the second Folk Music Festival, when he donated his collection to the city. It is now the largest collection of naive art in Hungary, comprising 2,415 paintings and sculptures. After replacing the damaged structural elements, restoring the original construction, replastering the walls, and laying wooden plank floors, the exhibition halls and offices were located in the main building, while the storage area and restoration workshop were housed in the western wing.
City Cultural and Youth Centre, Kalocsa, 1978
The former Nagyszeminárium (Great Seminary) was one of the most important historic buildings of Kalocsa, forming an irreplaceable architectural accent at the end of the town’s main street. Founded in the 18th century, the Baroque, L-shaped, two-storey building was modified in the mid-19th century by several extensions that gave it a Classical character. After its nationalisation in 1951, it underwent various temporary uses – apartments were created within – and by the 1970s it had been abandoned. Thanks to József Kerényi’s concept, the building was not demolished to make way for a new cultural centre. Instead, its original values were revealed and preserved through a transformation that met the needs of its new function.
Together with the historic restoration, the interior spaces were given renewed meaning. The ground floor housed a café, tourist office, and civic organisations; the first floor accommodated a cultural centre; the second-floor library included a children’s reading room; and the chapel was converted into a chamber hall. The interior design serves as a model for the modern, multifunctional cultural reuse of historic buildings.
Ceramics Studio, Kecskemét, 1982
The idea of the Kecskemét Ceramics Studio dates back to the city’s turn-of-the-century cultural flowering under Mayor Elek Kada, who founded a small artists’ colony. After 1945 the studios were used as residences, and it was only in the early 1970s that the idea of continuing the tradition re-emerged. The first workshop buildings designed by Kerényi included a sculptor’s studio on Kápolna Street, located in a protected vernacular heritage area, followed by a studio and a combined workshop-apartment. Later, additional studios and workshops were added, both preserved and newly constructed buildings forming a unified complex.
Behind a high stone wall decorated with colourful elements, the ensemble took shape as a coherent group of whitewashed, clay-tiled buildings. Thanks to the comb-style layout, the complex offers both private spaces and shared courtyards. The attic space beneath the pitched roofs was used ingeniously, and even the traditional hayloft door found new meaning in this context. The simple, traditional structures, the characteristic regional building pattern, and the harmony between old and new architectural elements gave the International Ceramics Studio its distinctive and mature artistic character.
Lónyai Villa, Budapest, 1996–
The grand bourgeois villa designed by Miklós Ybl stands on the Buda side of the Castle Hill, directly above Várkert Bazár. It was built for Menyhért Lónyai, a former prime minister, on the site of the former Ottoman-era fortification known as the Golden Bastion. Because of the 42-metre elevation difference between the two parallel streets bordering the site, Ybl designed two retaining walls, enabling the lower levels to be developed along the street line. Here he created one of his most significant works – a monumental system of terraces, retaining walls, and stairways that made possible the development of the sloping hillside.
In 1923 the villa was purchased by Ferenc Hatvany, painter, art collector, and heir of the wealthy sugar-magnate family, who became one of the leading patrons of Hungarian fine art between the wars. During the Nazi occupation the palace was used as an SS casino, and in 1944 it was hit by a bomb. In 1946 the state ordered its demolition, and a playground was later built on the empty plot. In 1996 the property entered private ownership, and József Kerényi began designing its reconstruction.
The representative villa’s function – and thus the design programme – has continued to evolve since 1996, but the rebuilt Ybl Villa is envisioned as a cultural institution in every version. On the Danube-facing sides of the first and second floors, Kerényi designed modern, anti-reflective, non-mirroring glass walls framed by preserved stone ornaments, allowing the 180-degree panorama to unfold. Rather than attempting a literal restoration of the past, Kerényi’s concept proposes a 21st-century building that evokes the lost Lónyai Villa destroyed after World War II.
[Written in: 2015]