Bodrog Guest House, Tokaj

Tokaj is situated at the confluence of the Tisza and Bodrog rivers, at the foot of Kopasz Hill; it is a settlement founded at the time of the Hungarian conquest. The plots of land in the bend of the Bodrog, stretching right down to its banks and situated opposite the former Rákóczi Castle, were already built on by the second half of the 1800s. The planned guest house was built on two of these plots.

With its dimensions, this two-unit building is reminiscent of small-town-style residential houses found in town centres; however, its layout adapts to the neighbouring rural development: the street frontage features a tall natural stone fence and a single-storey, gable-roofed façade whitewashed in white. Set back from the street is the two-storey building block, laid out parallel to it, from which there is a view towards the River Bodrog. The two sections of the building are connected by a semi-enclosed staircase.

When the flats are in use simultaneously, any sound carry-over is reduced by their spatial offset. Thanks to this functional interplay, the gaps in the terraces adjoining the living rooms – which appear on different façades – lend a sense of dynamism to the building mass: on the ground floor, they open onto the courtyard, whilst on the upper floor they offer views of the Bodrog.

The building’s appearance is dominated by features characteristic of the Tokaj-Hegyalja region: thick, block-like walls and pillars; openings that appear small in comparison; and eaves that extend down to the lintels of the windows. When the architect knows and understands the landscape and the settlement in which their building is to be situated, and when their intention is not to make it stand out but to continue the existing built environment and for the new building to become part of it, then architecture in keeping with the spirit of the place can be created – as was the case with this guesthouse on the banks of the Bodrog.

(Written by Enikő Harmath-Gyetvay, excerpts, orszagepito.net, 24 August 2022.)