The quality of Balatonfüred's Congress Centre, which blends into the landscape, is already advertised on a sign

Not only the unique architectural solutions, such as the impressive lobby, but also the 650-seat plenary hall and the two-storey section rooms make Balatonfüred's newest multifunctional event venue truly impressive. The Balatonfüred Congress Centre building was designed by Közti Zrt. and built by SZABADICS Építőipari Zrt. and PARALELBAU Kft..

Three main surface types characterise the ensemble: stone, glass and a green roof as the fifth facade of the building.

The latter blends the modern building into its surroundings as a real special feature of the facility,

which has two main functions: it can host large-scale events, and is used as a conference centre and exhibition space, and a 290-space underground car park was built underneath in the first phase to serve visitors to events.

The complex, built on the site of the parking lot on Huray István Street, has previously won the most prestigious architectural award in Central Europe: the BigSEE awards the best architecture, interior design and design solutions in 21 countries of the South-Eastern European region in six different categories, where the designs of the Balatonfüred Congress Centre, designed by Zoltán Tima, were also recognised.

They wanted to make room for forward-looking solutions

In 2024, the Építési Vállalkozók Országos Szakszövetsége (ÉVOSZ) Construction Excellence Award will also be awarded to the centre for its restrained design and careful construction, but the Excellence Award also recognises professional excellence, dedication and the work of the most outstanding professionals in the construction industry. Speaking on behalf of the client at the opening ceremony, Dr. István Bóka, Mayor of Balatonfüred, said. We wanted to build an underground car park on the site of the former Huray market, on which we could also build a forward-looking conference centre, which would be a benchmark for Balaton, and a hotel.

We are seeing the end of this huge work, as the underground car park and conference centre are already operational, and the 50-room conference hotel will soon be completed.

This will help to strengthen the four-seasonal Lake Balaton concept. Such a centre can bring guests here when they are most needed: in autumn, spring and basically on weekdays. Balatonfüred has received many architectural awards in recent years. We advocate that old buildings should be renovated in a modern way, but new buildings should allow for forward-looking solutions, which is what the plans by Zoltán Tima fit in so well."

Construction required close cooperation

Balázs Ott, Managing Director of PARALELBAU Kft., said in his welcome speech, "This award confirms the company's 15 years of achievements and gives a big boost for the years to come. The construction of the conference centre was a real challenge for all of us in terms of value, time and technical content. It was fantastic to see such an impressive building rise up here on the site of the old market.

We are proud to have been able to build this excellent building to a great design, but we could not have been successful if our consortium with the SZABADICS Group had not put their professional knowledge and manpower to the best of their ability.

It's the responsibility of everyone involved to create the best possible end product together, and everyone from the designers to the technical inspectors have done a great job."

Szabadics Roland, Chief Operating Officer of SZABADICS Építőipari Zrt., added:

"It's a popular saying that talent wins the race, but team and intellect wins the championship. This project could not have been completed to this standard if the talented people involved had not worked as a team to achieve a common goal.

We were set very high standards in terms of quality and technical content, which required a lot of negotiation. However, this has finally led to the fact that we are now able to receive the recognition of our work in a festive atmosphere, as this huge honour proves that quality-oriented joint work is worthwhile even when we have to rush to the first ferry at dawn or wait for the concrete work that lasts into the evening.

We have been a part of the Hungarian construction industry for 35 years, but I can safely say that this project will go down in the "golden book" of our group's history and we will proudly stand in front of it whenever we pass by.

Trust is crucial to the life of our company. And we received trust from our consortium partner and our client at the beginning of the project, which we then built on and deepened together in order to achieve this beautiful result."

Outstanding fit

Imre Peresztegi, member of the Board of Directors of ÉVOSZ, congratulated the winners on behalf of the Construction Industry Master Award Foundation. As he told us, 29 projects were submitted for the 2024 competition, from which the 18-member jury selected the winning projects after a personal visit. The Balatonfüred Conference Centre won the award in the category of Cultural Public Buildings. Recalling the words of the judges, Peresztegi underlined:

"the architectural concept preserves the green slopes of the hillside facing Route 71, so the building's mass does not disturb the suburban environment.

With its glass walls, spectacular limestone paving and effortless elegance, it fits into the fabric of the city. The imposing foyer exhibition space and plenary hall can be used as a theatre, but there are also several sectional halls that support the programmes here and can be linked together. The state-of-the-art technical equipment and the functional flexibility of the spaces are outstanding.

After the welcome speeches, Peter Bálint, Vice-Chairman of the Jury, also handed over the certificates of the subcontractors. The winners of the ÉVOSZ Award of Excellence will be able to nominate their three subcontractors who have made the greatest contribution to the success of the construction. In Balatonfüred, Péter Építő Kft, Holalak Construction Services Kft. and Kele Kft. received the award.