The majestic complex of buildings of the Tihany Benedictine Abbey defines the northern shore of Lake Balaton. The condition and preservation of the original beauty of this defining monument of Hungarian history and culture is a common concern for all of us. It is good news that the renovation of the building complex, which lasted several years, was completed this year, and our firm played a decisive role in it. Our design team was led by Dr. Gergely Paulinyi DLA and István Vámossy, who had the opportunity to carry out a general modernisation and a monumental renovation of the monastery, which was long overdue, as the interior of the building had been considerably deteriorated since the last conservation work in 1994.
The architectural concept was based on the preservation and presentation of the architectural, artistic and historical values of the building, as well as on the priority of the residential function, comfort and efficiency of operation. As a starting point, our colleagues carried out a point cloud survey, which revealed traces of decorative painting in several rooms. It was obvious that these needed to be seen by the public. In the case of layers dating from several periods, we always restored the paintwork to its best condition - leaving the testimony surfaces intact - in keeping with the intended function of the room.
The monastic living spaces were upgraded with built-in furniture from the historic interior, designed to accommodate the increased amount of cabling and installation without damaging the historic wall fabric. The design was based on incorporating as few visible new elements as possible, resulting in minimal demolition. As part of the energy renovation, heat pumps were installed to supplement the existing gas heating.
The renovation has preserved and presented the building's historic features, while modernising the living space, increasing comfort and improving operational efficiency. The result is a building complex that harmoniously combines the values of the past with the requirements of today.
The renovation was reported in detail in Octogon, which can be found at the following link: https://www.octogon.hu/epitesz...