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House of the Year awards: a family house on the outskirts of the village and a kindergarten in the park of the small castle
"The House of the Year competition has maintained its independence for seventeen years, and thus has a special place among the domestic architectural awards. I am convinced that this independence contributes to its becoming a credible benchmark for both architects and the public" - said Diána Rajki, owner of the company that organizes the House of the Year competition, Build-Communication, in her introduction at the award ceremony on 1 October at Symbol Budapest, the organizers said in a press release sent to our newspaper.
They explain that the aim of the House of the Year competition - now in its 40th year - is to identify and present to professionals and the general public those quality architectural works that are considered to be exemplary not only from an aesthetic point of view, but also from an environmental and economic point of view. At the award ceremony held on Wednesday, the architects of the winning buildings received two special professional prizes and three special sponsorship prizes, in addition to the two main prizes, at Symbol Budapest. This year, a total of 31 residential and 23 public buildings were nominated by their designers for the best-known and most prestigious independent architecture competition.
"I would like to thank the jury and our supporters for keeping the House of the Year spirit alive for 17 years. This partnership is now much more than a competition or an event: it has become a true professional forum, creating a community of values and setting an example. Year after year, there is a growing sense of the need for occasions, places and events that do not encourage the formation of camps, but rather cooperation and respect for shared values."
- said Balázs Szoják, architect and founding curator of the House of the Year competition in his opening speech.
Revived in 2008
In the recent history of the House of the Year competition since 2008, the jury has once again selected the seven best of the many high quality architectural creations. "I would like to thank all the candidates for their courage and the quality of the work they bring to the jury's table year after year. We hope that the next years' crop will present the jury with the same difficult decisions as this year's", said Tamás Noll, Ybl Miklós Miklós Prize-winning architect and chairman of the jury.
Over the years, the goals have not changed, but the conditions under which a house has a chance of winning a prestigious, independent award of the Hungarian architectural community have changed a lot. Aesthetics, integration into the environment and landscape, respect for existing buildings, modern technology or even an economical approach, or even a restrained architectural attitude - there are many reasons why a house, a public building or, more recently, a condominium may be among the winners.
Family house in the trees and kindergarten in the castle park
In line with these principles, the best building in the residential category, out of 23 detached houses and 3 condominiums, was the one in Somogytúr, in a quiet, secluded setting. "The building does not conform to the traditional settlement fabric, but reflects the landscape. It is not formal, but rather atmospheric: the proximity of the forest defines its architectural character. Its scale, its rhythm, the way its spaces function, make it an integral part of the environment. Contemporary architecture that conveys closeness to nature, tranquillity and a timeless quality" - said Balázs Szoják of the family house submitted to the 2025 House of the Year architectural competition, whose designers Norbert Villányi and Rozália Marton V.won the top prize this year in the combined category of family houses and condominiums.
In the public building category, György Kisberzsenyi-Nagy received the main prize, awarded by the jury for the exemplary adaptive reuse of the renovated "small castle", the Roman Catholic Kindergarten, which was built from a listed building in Keszthely. In his explanatory statement, Tamás Noll, architect and president of the jury, stressed that this work was an exemplary solution to the task of saving a valuable building that was originally nearly two centuries old but has recently fallen into complete disrepair, and of transforming it to meet the aesthetic and architectural requirements of today's world.
The A Fiúk Építész Stúdió, Varga N. Dániel N.V. N.V. and Zoltán Kabdebó for the modernization of a 200-year-old listed house, while the Magyar Építő Association of Artists special professional prize was awarded to CAN Architects Studio for their work on the renovation of the Piarist High School in Mosonmagyaróvár. The architects were András Cseh, Szilárd Köninger, József Élő, Dávid Németh and Ádám Tátrai, and the collaborators were Márton Horváth and Vanessza Vadász.
Seven professional awards found their winners
Andor Komlós, main sponsor of the House of the Year competition and managing director of Leier Hungária Kft. managing director, highlighted the quality and diversity of the outstanding work being produced despite the current challenging conditions in the construction industry. „The quality of the entries proves that Hungarian architects are doing outstanding work despite the economic difficulties. Leier has been supporting the award for six years now because we believe it represents real value, and we thank everyone who shares our belief.”
A special feature of the House of the Year competition is that the jury also decides on the special prizes for sponsors, and recommends the works of the architects it considers worthy of the award to the sponsors. This means that the seven prizes awarded are all professional prizes," the press release points out.
Among the special sponsor prizes, the Leier Special Sponsor Prize was awarded to Dénes Fajcsák and Gábor Fábián for the design of an energy-conscious family house built in Eger.
Winners of the Meva Formwork Systems Zrt. special prize was awarded to Prof. András Tibor Kertész DLA and Tamás Tóth, the designers of the Füredliget Pavilion in Balatonfüred. The Terrán Roof Tile Manufacturer Kft. special prize was also awarded to a building in Balatonfüred, the Esterházy Castle, visitor centre and museum renovation works, by László Herczeg and Tamás Vörös DLA.
What do those for whom the buildings are being constructed think?
Although the House of the Year competition is a professional award, the recognised buildings are still designed for the people who live and work in them, so the organisers ask the general public for their opinion in a public vote every year. The public vote in the family home category was won again this year by OTP Ingatlanpont Kft. and OTP Pénzügyi Pont Zrt..
"As experts in the field of home building, it is important for us to support initiatives that also convey value in architectural culture. This is why we are supporting the Audience Award category for the umpteenth time, and it is as important to us now as it was in the beginning." - said Silvia Piros, Regional Manager of OTP Ingatlanpont , a leading Hungarian financial institution, a member of the OTP Bank Group, at the ceremony.
In 2025, the team of architects led by P Péter Tóth DLA won the public award for the renovation of a family house in the suburbs of Budapest, out of 23 family houses. The architects involved in the project were Máté Máté Meter, Enikő Harmath-Gyetvay and Szabolcs Szilágyi.
Members of the House of the Year jury in 2025
President: Tamás Noll, Ybl Miklós Prize-winning architect, former President of the Hungarian Chamber of Architects
Co-Chairs:
- Sándor Dévényi DLA, Member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts
- Katalin Fazekas DLA, delegate of the 1TP1696Artists' Association
- Mátyás Tutervai, Vice President of the Hungarian Chamber of Architects
- Balázs Szoják, architect, founding curator of the "House of the Year" award
Tags:
- Balázs Tóth, architect
- Dr. Elek Tóth, Professor, BME Department of Building Materials and Tall Construction
- Zoltán Király, architect awarded the Ybl Miklós Prize in 2024
Professional patrons: the Hungarian Chamber of Architects, 1TP1696Association of Artists
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