Ferenc Salamin’s professional career is marked by an uncompromising commitment to quality. Whether in architectural design, construction supervision, editing publications, or developing the national network of chief architects, his thinking encompasses every detail without ever losing sight of “the whole”.
Born in Budapest in 1958, Salamin still lives and works in the capital. His childhood years near Városmajor in Buda were shaped by a large middle-class family (with six older siblings) and by his father, an engineer and university professor held in high professional esteem.
During his university years, it was not so much the prominent professors as the young community of architects in the Bercsényi Street dormitory – enjoying a degree of creative freedom – that played a decisive role. Lectures, exhibitions, concerts and artistic experiments took place there in the early 1980s, testing the boundaries of a slowly emerging public life. Alongside the rigid academic doctrines unable to break free from the dogma of modernism, they sought new paths – and this endeavour naturally led them to an encounter with Imre Makovecz, the most prominent proponent of organic architecture in Hungary, who had already gained international recognition by then. Instead of the “summer production internships” imposed on students by the authorities at the time (two to four weeks of meaningless work in agricultural cooperatives), the young architects chose to spend that period building together. Thus was born, in 1981, the idea of the Visegrád Camp, located on a site provided by Makovecz’s employer at the time, the Pilis Forestry Enterprise, in an abandoned quarry near the historic town of Visegrád. Each year, the student community built a new structure, selected through a design competition among the participants. “It was here that we came to understand the nature of materials, the essence of collaboration, and that the centre and scale of everything is the human being”, recalls Ferenc Salamin, who took part in the first camp and remained involved in its organisation for five or six years. He also took a leading role in editing the book compiled for the twentieth anniversary of the Visegrád Camp.
Between 1982 and 1988, Ferenc Salamin was one of the editors and later editor-in-chief of Bercsényi 28–30, the Journal of Architecture Students, which was named after the Bercsényi dormitory but was far more than an ordinary university periodical. Beyond presenting student projects, it also undertook the translation and publication of influential foreign writings on architectural theory, and published thematic issues devoted to Hungarian architects who had been silenced during the communist years (Károly Kós, Ödön Lechner, etc.).
Before graduating in 1985, alongside organising the Visegrád Camps and editing Bercsényi 28–30, Salamin found time for another major undertaking: the construction of the Váci Rév complex – a small ensemble including a café, a bus shelter and public conveniences – envisioned by Imre Makovecz and built by the Visegrád Group of architects in 1983–84. During the day, construction work took place, while in the evenings the team would draw the detailed plans together, forming what must have seemed a rather eccentric and noisy company to outside observers.
After graduation, Salamin worked together with Imre Makovecz within the constantly changing framework of small architectural enterprises. At first, together with four colleagues, he worked as a member of the Idol small enterprise, operating in one room of his parents’ apartment on Szilágyi Erzsébet Avenue. From 1987, he joined the MAKONA Cooperative, continuing to work tirelessly and never considering architecture as a nine-to-five profession. In 1986 he received his first commission as lead architect – the transformation and extension of the Mátyás Király (King Matthias) Secondary School in Fonyód. The project was entrusted to him by Makovecz himself, who generously and perceptively delegated design commissions from local councils and regional leaders to his younger colleagues. The large-scale building still bears the characteristic features of “the Master’s” architecture: the sweeping curved roof, the sectional form of the great hall, its spatial walls and decorative carpentry structure – all expressing an organic, “living presence”.
In the 1980s, countless ambitious rural council leaders, weary of the constraints of the state-controlled planning system, approached the independent-minded architect Imre Makovecz to help them solve the architectural challenges of their towns or villages. Makovecz tirelessly travelled around the country, usually accompanied by one of his students or colleagues, pointing out the most common architectural mistakes and at the same time suggesting the most effective ways to address them. Among other things, he often recommended that municipalities employ a chief architect – usually a young and trusted member of his own team – for this demanding and responsible role.
In 1986 he was invited to the town of Szerencs to assist in reviving the main street and the town centre. As a result of this visit, the first design commission that emerged – the People’s House, a small community building on the main street – was entrusted to Ferenc Salamin, who introduced a new architectural quality to the town. At the corner junction of the building, he designed a prominent central hall whose axis aligned with the tower of the medieval-based church rising above the site. With its lively façade, “the design reflects the eclectic small-town streetscape, from which the building, which carries new ideas, makes its way".
The confidence gained through this project was strengthened by Salamin’s successful work as chief architect of the town, and the People’s House was followed by a number of design projects that reshaped the local townscape: the reconstruction of the main street façades, the extension of the primary school, the construction of the adjoining sports hall, and the restoration of the student dormitory. Each project contributed to the renewal of buildings deformed by the communist era, restoring harmony with the surviving local architectural character while giving them a distinctive new identity. “As I began to get to know the area, I became more and more interested in the region’s architectural traditions; the residential units for physicians sought to recall the region’s character within a row-house composition.” This project and the family houses designed during this period are still related in spirit to Makovecz’s architecture, but their design already adopts Salamin’s own stylistic traits: the seemingly unrestrained yet meticulously conceived timber structures, the multi-layered, dynamically fragmented roof surfaces, and the sharply pointed gable ends.
In 1989, the year of the political transition, he travelled to Järna in Sweden, taking advantage of the newly opened borders. There he spent three months at the Asmussen architectural studio, studying the theory and practice of anthroposophical (Steiner-inspired) architecture, while also gaining an insight into the daily life of a close-knit and welcoming community of architects. In the same year, following the economic changes and encouraged in no small part by Imre Makovecz, he founded – together with Tamás Nagy and László Vincze – AXIS Architects studio, of which he remains a partner to this day. A year after its foundation, the firm joined the Károly Kós Association, an organisation uniting the Hungarian representatives of organic architecture. One of the Association’s main activities – besides publishing its own journal, Országépítő (The Nation-Builder) – is the operation of the Vándoriskola (Itinerant School), a postgraduate training programme where recent graduates work for six semesters in six different member studios to gain an insight into architectural practice. From its foundation in 1989 until 2004, Ferenc Salamin was the head of the Itinerant School programme, organising joint professional projects and exhibitions. His connection with the training programme has continued ever since, as each semester he hosts and mentors at least one young architect in his studio.
In 1993, local citizens invited him to take on the position of chief architect in the picturesque village of Zebegény, a post he held continuously until 2013. During this period, many small public buildings were renovated according to his designs, the paving and layout of the Main Square were renewed, and he consistently supervised the architectural quality of local projects – supporting designers in creating buildings worthy of this historic village and ensuring that commissions were entrusted to architects of genuine quality.
A key focus of Ferenc Salamin’s career has been understanding the architecture of the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region and creating the architectural framework for the post-transition revival of Hungarian winemaking. The first stage of this work was the design of the winery building for the Count Degenfeld Estate in Tarcal. In the early 1990s, foreign investors arriving in the region brought with them a completely new concept of winemaking, accompanied by a greenfield development approach that differed from the traditional built character of the area. The gradually emerging design challenge was to translate this Western notion of wine quality into architecture, while continuing and reinterpreting the distinctive Tokaj-Hegyalja style. The Tarcal winery – an extension of an existing structure – became the first truly thoughtful embodiment of this effort. In front of the former vintner’s house and cellar, a spacious, high-ceilinged processing hall was added, connected to two elongated wings. The size and scale of these halls evoke the traditional wine-cellar entrances of the region, and their careful placement made it possible to preserve the surrounding vegetation entirely. Executed with exceptional craftsmanship, the building served as an excellent reference for new investors entering the wine region.
The renovation of the Királyudvar Winery in Tarcal – an American-owned estate of high professional repute – entailed the integration of modern winemaking technology into a medium-sized vineyard building dating from the 16th century, which had been disfigured almost beyond recognition. In a wine region with an unparalleled wealth of architectural heritage, encountering such a mansion (surprisingly not protected as a historic monument) was almost inevitable. Yet Salamin approached the project not through conventional restoration methods, but under the influence of Imre Makovecz’s visionary “might-have-been” world. As he described the challenges in one of his essays:
“To create the impossible, to realise the historical continuity and natural evolution of buildings. To design hand in hand with the architects of the past, those who no longer exist in the material world, and with the anonymous vernacular builders. To rediscover the building’s story, its face, its former inhabitants, and to call them for guidance. To build in this spirit, to bring light again to houses scarred by man, this is the truly adventurous architectural gesture, the one that carries real meaning. To include the modest houses of the side streets left outside the grand narratives of history, the post-war social-realist buildings, and all other overlooked structures in a continuum where tradition, continuity, and modern understanding meet – that is the goal. To restore dignity and beauty to these houses and their towns, to allow them once again to find their place and value.”
Putting these elevated ideas into everyday practice required an enormous amount of work and continuous learning. Each building represented a new challenge, and the challenges multiplied around the turn of the millennium: the Count Degenfeld Castle Hotel in Tarcal, the Dereszla Winery in Bodrogkeresztúr, the Gaál House and the Szepsy House in Mád, and the Demeter House in Tokaj. Meanwhile, numerous design tenders and commissions for iconic winery buildings followed — the Tokajicum Winery in Tarcal, the Patricius Winery in Bodrogkisfalud, the Lőcse Vineyard Centre in Erdőbénye, the Pannonhalma Abbey Winery, and a major project in Erdőhorváti. All these projects share certain characteristics: sensitive integration into the landscape, the use of architectural elements typical of vineyard structures, the idea of a winery discreetly hidden behind retaining walls, and the creation of multi-level buildings that allow for gravity-based grape processing and winemaking. Among these, the wineries in Tarcal and Bodrogkisfalud were realised from Ferenc Salamin’s designs, both of which were featured and reviewed in leading Hungarian architectural journals. The latter received a Construction Quality Award certificate, largely thanks to the architect’s conscientious supervision during construction. The extension of the eponymous Patricius Winery is almost imperceptible, following the logic of the original building and reviving elements of the once-common, now nearly forgotten art of stone carving. The large-capacity winery’s technical rooms are arranged almost invisibly behind an existing underground tank space, organised around a service courtyard, so that the restored Patricius Winery, with its renewed patina, dominates the entire composition.
As more reference buildings were completed and his experience in the region deepened, Salamin established close ties with local municipalities and decision-makers who were seeking trustworthy architects with local experience to help them make effective use of EU development funds. As chief architect of Szerencs, he was awarded the Podmaniczky Prize and helped the town earn the Hild Award, continuing his impressive urban renewal work with the restoration of the turn-of-the-century Bathhouse. By repairing the façades and roofing over the inner courtyard, he created a practical, two-storey public complex. The main façade motif of the extension is inspired by a small brick triumphal arch discovered in the inner garden. The curved timber beams of the new pool hall define the character of the space, emphasised by a continuous strip of skylights at the junction of the old and new structures, while the concealed mechanical systems do not disrupt the harmony.
As with all his projects, constant on-site presence during construction proved essential – for architectural work is only meaningful when design intentions are realised through building, and the final outcome meets the highest standards. This meant regular weekly site supervision sessions, lasting several hours and involving close human collaboration. In the words of Imre Makovecz: the true drama of construction.
Slightly different in form, yet equally dramatic, is the twin-tower composition of the Világörökségi Kapuzat (World Heritage Gateway) in Szerencs, where the exuberant timber capitals characteristic of Salamin’s early works form a harmonious unity with the stone-clad building volumes that support them. As the saying goes, Szerencs is the gate to the Tokaj-Hegyalja region, and Ferenc Salamin was given the opportunity to express this idea through a contemporary architectural interpretation, realised in the twin structures standing on either side of the main road. The use of stone on the towers is refined: the coursed rubble masonry typical of the region creates a striking contrast with the texture of the local tufa stone. Over the years, through research into traditional masonry patterns, learning the logic of stone stacking, long experimentation, and the training of skilled local craftsmen, Salamin perfected his use of stone – from the pillars of the Majoros Winery in Tarcal to the towers of the World Heritage Gateway in Szerencs.
Alongside the design of larger, more prominent buildings, Ferenc Salamin has devoted energy to numerous smaller projects, often working with young architects from the Itinerant School training programme. He considers it a personal mission to support remote settlements: the design of street pavements, small structures, bus stops, community parks and playgrounds is for him just as important as the creation of iconic public buildings and wineries.
By the mid-2000s, Salamin’s architecture was marked by simplified building masses that blended naturally with their surroundings and with the unified architectural character of Tokaj-Hegyalja region. In each of his houses, it is often just a single detail or unexpected solution that draws the eye, lending individuality to a structure that otherwise integrates seamlessly into the townscape – echoing Imre Makovecz’s principle of “a single architectural idea for each house”. This may reflect the natural evolution of an architect’s creative career, or perhaps his humbleness inspired by the built heritage of the wine region. It can also stem from the accelerating pace of the modern world – with its specific EU funding frameworks – and from the accompanying decline in construction quality. By this time, the general “nothing is impossible” spirit that characterised (not only) the construction industry around the political transition had all but disappeared.
As his ideas about architecture itself have evolved, so too has changed his role as a chief architect. Beyond day-to-day responsibilities, the task has become that of elevating the profession to a higher standard. In the changing architectural policy environment after 2010, broadening and strengthening the network of chief architects, and enhancing the influence of architectural and design councils, demanded an increasingly public role. Salamin’s position as President of the National College of Chief Architects enables him to pursue these aims, while requiring great dedication. His objectives include involving chief architects in building permit procedures, bringing official decision-making closer to the local context, and improving the quality of townscapes by giving decisive weight to architectural judgement.
As a practising architect, Ferenc Salamin possesses a remarkable portfolio in one of Hungary’s most emblematic regions, the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine region. His ties to the area go beyond his realised buildings: for twenty-eight years he has served as chief architect of Szerencs and has conducted continuous theoretical research. He shares his professional knowledge with inexhaustible energy as a mentor to the students of the Itinerant School training programme and as a member of Hungary’s most prestigious design councils and juries. He is also a member of the Károly Kós Association and of the Architectural Section of the Hungarian Academy of Arts. As President of the National College of Chief Architects, he works actively to enhance the quality of Hungary’s built environment. His architecture is distinguished by the coexistence of discipline and abundant expressive freedom within a single building. For him, professional responsibility extends far beyond designing a plan: he follows each project through to its final act of construction, always striving for the highest possible quality.
[2016]