Tihany, Residential House

The design site is located within the administrative area of Tihany, directly adjacent to a protected natural area. Its setting alone creates the opportunity for a different kind of environment: one that is humble, restrained and sensitive to its surroundings.

The owner had a clear intention to establish the most harmonious possible relationship with the exceptionally beautiful meadow covering the Gödrös area, with its fescue, feather grass and Dianthus. To support this, no fence was built between the natural vegetation and the legal boundaries of the garden. Yet this is not the only way in which the surroundings of the house merge with the landscape.

The grassy meadow in front of the building, revealed through a network of paths, was created through careful manual seed collection carried out on site within the protected area. This allowed the boundaries between built and natural elements to become even more blurred.

The planted perennial groups were inspired by the plant communities of Gödrös. During the planting design process, special attention was paid to avoiding species that spread invasively or propagate vigorously from seed, in order to prevent their unwanted spread into the protected natural area. A temporary automatic irrigation system was installed beneath the perennials, but it supports plant development only until establishment, during the first years.

Particular emphasis was placed on the use of natural materials in the garden. Natural stone, timber and metal elements fit well within the garden’s concept and harmoniously complement the appearance of the built elements, retaining walls, gates and rain shelters.

“…The meadow is almost untouched. It is revealed by only a few paths, worn down by measured curiosity. Its edge is uncertain; its width has been shaped by the image that opens up before it — where the view is richer, the trodden surface becomes broader. Something similar is beginning to emerge across the surface of the inner courtyard. Here, however, the paths are designed and aligned with the edges of the courtyard. They include spreading, widening surfaces. These serve different uses: a fire pit, a wood store, a solitary resting place for one person embedded in a secluded grove, and an infiltration area that manages the rainwater collected from the roof. These clusters of differing use and character remain separate from one another. They do not disturb each other. When this path is completed and there is no longer any need for a construction staging area, the seeds collected on the other side will be scattered, creating the possibility for the meadow to spread into the inner courtyard. An excellent strategy. The secret desire is fulfilled by its own natural means. This, too, is coexistence.”

— Tamás Karácsony: Togetherness – The Transformation of a Holiday House in Tihany, Építészfórum, 22 September 2025.