Impressive: Hungarian architects redesign historic centre of a Sicilian town

Hungarian architects have received significant recognition: a historic town far from Hungary has been redesigned. Bálint Kádár, a professor at the University of Technology, shares with Impress Magazin his experience of reimagining the centuries-old Baroque town centre of Mazzarino.

The Italian town of Mazzarino has selected a Hungarian design firm to redesign its historic centre. Bálint Kádár, Director of Architecture and Urbanism at DANU Engineering and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at BME, explains how the Hungarian architects managed to win a design competition in Sicily.

“First of all, there have been very few major design competitions funded by public money in Hungary for years—perhaps two or three annually at most—so we have to look abroad,” Kádár explained.

Winning such competitions is far from easy, even more so than gaining recognition. It is no coincidence that relatively few Hungarian companies seize such opportunities abroad, as success requires strong connections as well as expertise. In this case, it was crucial that Bálint Kádár has a deep familiarity with Italy—he speaks the language, studied architecture in Milan on an Erasmus scholarship, and maintains active projects with his department at Sapienza University in Rome, according to Impress Magazin.

Mazzarino: a beautiful, historic town

Even so, it is quite an achievement for Hungarian architects to be selected, given that the competitors were culturally embedded locals. Kádár also noted that this recognition is a tribute to the Department of Urban Studies at ÉPK, whose accumulated knowledge is competitive worldwide. In response to our questions, he mentioned that the Hungarian architects’ links with the academic world, both domestically and internationally, are crucial: “The name of BME carries weight.” The involvement of Italian Erasmus students studying in Hungary was also a significant advantage, without which, as he added, “this would not have happened.”

Of course, a small Italian town of 11,000 inhabitants could not afford to launch an international design competition on its own; however, municipalities there receive state support. Mazzarino, though, is “a surprisingly vibrant place, with a self-aware citizenry, a local intelligentsia, and a strong interest in preserving its historic character.”

The Hungarian architects at DANU took inspiration from the town’s history, believing it holds valuable lessons: the town’s golden age was when people primarily travelled on foot. Their task was to rethink the town’s Baroque axis, flanked by seven churches, with a concept aimed at creating a more liveable and usable space by removing cars from parts of the area.

Hungarian architects aimed to preserve the heritage

While showing respect for the built heritage, they have not hesitated to incorporate modern elements, such as parapets, new street furniture, a green wall, and a comprehensive rainwater harvesting system.

Remarkably, all of this work was done almost entirely remotely, without visiting the site in person at this stage. “Thirty years ago, this would have been unimaginable; even ten years ago, it would have been challenging, but now, with tools like Google Street View, it’s quite feasible,” Kádár remarked.

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