Imre Makovecz

Imre Makovecz was born in Budapest in 1935 and studied architecture at the Technical University between 1954 and 1959. During his studies he came across Hungarian translations of texts by Frank Lloyd Wright and Rudolf Steiner which were a crucial influence on his future work. In 1964 he made his first "initiation" trip to Western Europe where he encountered Steiner's legacy. His architecture and philosophy were increasingly and intensely reflected in Makovecz's contemplations and architectural work. Makovecz formulated his personal theory of organic architecture and he found a synonym in Hungarian in the adjective "live". It was based on a close relationship between man and nature and on his spiritual overlaps which were to be incorporated into architecture, among other areas. Makovecz found the roots of such architecture in both mythological and Christian traditions, and mirroring the Steinerian concepts of Eurythmy and symmetry, he sought inspiration in folk art. The final expression of his buildings was defined by the use of natural materials and specific transformations of traditional architectonic morphology. The architect gradually completely dissociated himself from the legacy of modern architecture. This put him in the role of a post-modern architect, however, very distant from the idea usually assigned to it by West European and American theories of architecture.