Makovecz was born in Budapest in 1935. When he was a boy, his family taught him the virtue of standing up to those in power; he even helped his father to blow up Nazi tanks during World War II. He attended the Technical University in Budapest and went on to become an architect. But Makovecz remained a free-thinker, always determined to challenge the status quo. In an era when the Communist government advocated its own, Soviet style of architecture, Makovecz developed his own approach. Drawing from the ideas of Frank Lloyd Wright, he pioneered the concept of organic architecture in Europe and combined it with recognizable motifs from folk designs, ranging from Hungarian to Celtic elements.
Makovecz, who was sometimes compared to Gaudí, was also a deeply religious man who openly challenged many tenets of the Communist government. Predictably, his artistic and political individualism annoyed the authorities. He was routinely marginalized and prevented from working on many projects.
The fall of Communism presented Makovecz with new opportunities. Among other projects, he was chosen to work on several Hungarian cultural centers in neighboring countries. The Cultural Center in Lendava was among them, a joint project between Slovenia and Hungary that made Makovecz one of only a few foreign architects to design a building in Slovenia. Conceived in 1995, but not completed until the following decade, the center includes a large auditorium with an orchestra pit. Seating almost 450 people, the venue hosts theatrical performances, concerts, puppet shows, and other events by both Slovenian and Hungarian performers.
The building’s flowerlike elements are a perfect example of Makovecz’s organic approach; the elements recall both living organisms and Hungarian folk architecture. This combination is typical of Makovecz’s designs; in later years, he was known as an outspoken critic of globalization, and advocated for the return of national approaches in architecture.
Makovecz died in 2011, but the building in Lendava was not just among his final creations, but also one of the most memorable designs of an architect who was always unafraid to challenge the established order.
