Albert Kálmán Kőrössy

Albert Kálmán Kőrössy is an undeservedly forgotten figure in the history of Hungarian architecture at the turn of the century. Although his name has remained hidden from the general public in recent decades, his works may be familiar to many if they think back to the years spent at Kölcsey Ferenc Gymnasium in Budapest, the window of the Philanthia flower shop on Váci Street, or the former high school in the civil service colony on Hungária Boulevard. His oeuvre includes not only neo-baroque forms, but also one of the significant European trends of Art Nouveau, early Jugendstil. He selected plant motifs and animal figures from the Hungarian fauna, the most beautiful examples of which are his own villa on the Városliget avenue, the Walko house on Aulich Street, and the Sonnenberg house on Munkácsy Street. Between 1906 and 1908, he worked together with Ödön Lechner, whose unique world of motifs inspired numerous works. From the 1910s, he was associated with the architect Géza Kiss, and their joint works are characterized by geometric forms and archaic, Egyptian decorations: in addition to numerous rented villas in Budapest, the former Szabolcsi Agrár Takarékpénztar in Nyíregyháza. Kőrössy regularly appeared at the exhibitions of the Műcsarnok at the turn of the century with his decorative facade drawings, and on one occasion the correspondent of Építő Ipar described his art as "knowledge interwoven with a sense of decoration". His significance is not only revealed through his realized plans, it was on his initiative that the rules of architectural competitions were changed, making the assessment of entries faster and more correct.