Eclecticism reviving in Gyöngyös

With its strongly symmetrical main building, highlighted by a striking central colonnade, the Borpalota, built as the shed of the Gyöngyös-Visontai Wine Growers' Association, is without exaggeration the dominant building complex of Gyöngyös, which has served local viticulture and winemaking on the edge of the historic town core since 1907. Although the distinctive, container-roofed building has never lost its function, its condition has deteriorated significantly and the contractor Modulimpex Kft. is having to partially demolish the complex to give it a new lease of life.

High-quality, durable materials are required for heritage conservation work, and assistance was requested from Cemix Hungary Kft.–.

PLANT – Atelier Peter Kis architectural firm has drawn up a modest plan that preserves the character of each building for the renovation of the centre belonging to the Dubicz Winery. When the eclectic buildings were constructed, a large cellar system was built underneath them, which was originally capable of storing 40,000 hectolitres of wine. Fortunately, the investors, Bellimmo Kft. and Borpalota Kft., committed themselves to preserving and expanding the original purpose of the building, so that one of Gyöngyös's most representative buildings, shaking off the divisions of the 1960s, can remain a single entity for posterity.

New building, conscious adaptation

As Sándor Juhász, civil engineer and quality engineer, informed us on behalf of the client, the project is located on two plots: the technological and service areas will be located in a new wing, while the historic annex will be renovated and extended to provide winery space, as its main function will be bottle and barrel ageing.

As a new building, the façade of the main building will follow its historic façade; but its interior will also blend in with the rest of the building.

The main building will also have a completely new roof structure, with a new upper slab and a renovated, partially demolished and rebuilt intermediate slab. In addition to the complete reconstruction of the facades and windows, the interiors, plastering, flooring, heating-cooling and ventilation systems will be renovated with contemporary solutions. While the basement section of the main building will remain unchanged, with only a lift to make it easier to use, the entire basement system under the new building will also be renewed.

The right products for every workflow

Zoltán Papp, the regional project manager of Cemix, added that in terms of raw materials, the customer demanded good value for money, good quality, fast and punctual delivery, and the establishment of personal professional contacts to resolve any technical issues that may arise. For this, the contractor chose Cemix products and support.

"Although there was no previous relationship between the two companies," the project manager stressed, "the current cooperation is exemplary and mutually beneficial for both parties in their daily work. Our materials are used with great satisfaction during the construction, and we have received only positive feedback on the quality and support service."

So far, 1303 MM 3 Masonry Mortar, 2012 PREMIUM Manual Basecoat, 2021 MP 501 I and Mechanical Basecoat, 5212 Estrich ZE20, and 5232 Estrich ZE30 concrete have been delivered to the site by Cemix. Deliveries of these products are still ongoing so the quantity varies daily, but so far more than 200 tonnes of material have already been installed by the contractor's workers. However, there is still a lot of work to be done by Modulimpex, as they need to complete all the work streams before handover

"We definitely wanted to work with one supplier for premixed building materials (plasters, mortars, screeds, bagged adhesives) if possible"

- added Ferenc Kameniczki, Technical Director, adding that "Cemix products represent high quality and durability, which is a great help for efficient and environmentally conscious construction processes. The cooperation has worked very well from the beginning, the delivery is flexible and fast, to our utmost satisfaction they have been able to meet all our needs so far."

A serious challenge: an elevator shaft cut into a dome vault

The renovation of an old building is always a challenge, as it requires adapting to the architectural solutions of our predecessors and integrating modern architectural technologies.

This is compounded by the fact that the winery will be in continuous operation during construction, so the organisational tasks will be extra challenging.

The design and construction of the new reinforced concrete elevator shaft through the slab structures and vaults, which were built in different periods and with different construction technologies, was a major challenge, said Ferenc Kameniczki. The elevator connects the basement level with the other floors of the building, and due to the condition of the building structures discovered during demolition work, the structural and architectural plans had to be modified in several cases during construction.

A similarly interesting solution was found with the "hybrid" building structure of the József Kármán Street wing. The original basement with a cantilevered vault was replaced by a two-storey building, the lower storey of which is a masonry structure reinforced with reinforced concrete piers, while the upper storey is a curtain wall structure braced with steel columns, with a reinforced concrete slab structure above both storeys.

Beyond the halfway point

"We are already halfway through the project, the complex and time-consuming structural works are practically complete," said the technical director.

At the moment, the roofing of the building on Kármán József Street is being carried out, while at the same time the wooden windows of the external façade and the aluminium curtain walls of the new building are being installed, so that the buildings will soon be ready for closure. Work is also nearing completion on the listed façade of the main building on Koháry Road, where interior works have started: plastering, flooring and plasterboarding are being carried out, and of course the electrical and mechanical systems are being put in place.