Revitalisation of the Zsámbék Old Church and Its Surroundings

The church ruin of Zsámbék is an exceptional architectural-historical and heritage value in Hungary. Previous generations have already contributed to safeguarding this value, and our own era cannot evade its responsibility to pass it on—undiminished—to those who come after us. The preservation of what exists today can be supported if we are able to breathe new life into the ensemble and, adapting to contemporary needs, reintroduce certain elements of its original functions. At the same time, any reconstruction would inevitably be a creation of the 21st century—one that would overwrite and irreversibly erase the traces of every earlier period.

Our task, therefore, is the simultaneous preservation of all these values. This implies that the church ruin must essentially be maintained in its present state, alongside the necessary interventions for structural protection and conservation. Distorting or radically transforming the historically formed, iconic image would deprive future generations of the freedom to decide for themselves the monument’s further fate.

Maintaining and conserving the ruin condition does not mean that the ensemble is unsuitable for the needs of our time. Beyond the fact that the most complete aesthetic experience is offered by the unique silhouette of the ruin set within the landscape, preserving this state also enables the return of certain elements of its former sacred functions. We cannot realistically expect a monastic community of a scale comparable to that of the 13th or 15th centuries to use the site regularly; however, both the Premonstratensian Order and the lay faithful could make use of the building for liturgical events tied to specific occasions, with varying requirements for capacity. In this way, the sacred function can return within the ancient walls.

Based on our proposal, needs ranging from regular small-community use through family events to occasional ceremonies attracting large crowds can all be accommodated. The unique architectural condition created by the partially ruined structure both embraces the liturgical events and preserves the openness of the space.

While fundamentally agreeing with the elements of the design programme (visitor reception building, exhibition spaces, event house, multifunctional space, monastery), we proposed these by renovating the retaining-wall system encircling the hilltop and shaping the new interventions as terrain-like components of it. In this arrangement, the central open space can host both small and large events, while each of the new functional elements offers visitors fresh and exciting viewpoints.

Despite an evaluation approach that generally favoured rebuilding, our proposal received a Distinguished Purchase Award.