Gábor Kabay Residence, Sepsiszentgyörgy

A design almost identical to the Kovács residence in Kolozsvár (1942) was prepared for a plot of approximately 10,000 square meters in the Szemerja district of Sepsiszentgyörgy. The L-shaped house was planned with two interconnected rooms, a kitchen, bathroom, and vestibule on the ground floor. A staircase from the vestibule led to bedrooms in the attic. From the two interconnected ground-floor rooms, a separate covered veranda opened, whose arched columns form a characteristic motif of the façade. From the kitchen, a rear exit led through a small enclosed anteroom to the garden; from here the cellar stairs were also accessible. The exterior is characterized by a stone plinth, the entrance porch, and a powerful roof form.

The lawyer Gábor Kabay was a close friend of Károly Kós; through his mediation, Kós was also involved in the design of the cooperative school and boarding facility. The surviving correspondence reveals the principles according to which Kós designed his friend’s house. Unfortunately, the building was never realized.

“Dear Gábor, my younger brother,

(…) I believe I now see that this time has arrived. The transitional period has passed; there is no longer a need for us in the front line, and so we may return to our original vocations. I to art and literature. And if God still grants me some time, health, and strength, I may perhaps create something in both of my main fields of work—in the visual arts (architecture) and in literature as well. This is my hope, and I am happy to have lived to see it.

And now you come as well: you wish to have a small family house designed by me. It comes at the best possible time, because my time and circumstances now allow precisely for this. In 1944, my home in Sztána was looted and almost completely destroyed; at the end of last autumn I finally regained possession of it. By now, part of the house is habitable again, and within three years the garden and the land will somehow be put back in order as well. My farming equipment, furniture, and the necessities of life can—at least in part—be replaced, and then I will once again have a home, even if not the one I had before 1944.

Unfortunately, all my books, writings, drawings, notes, and personal mementos were irretrievably destroyed thanks to the Maniu Guards. This is my greatest loss, because they represented irreplaceable intellectual and material values: the results, fruits, collections, and intended legacy of a lifetime of work. This pain is constant and indelible.

But let us now turn to your matter, for all of this must surely be tedious to you. First of all, then: I received your letter, posted on March 8, only yesterday, on March 23, here in Sztána. That is why I am replying only now. Such is our postal service. For this reason, I ask that any further letters be addressed to my residence at Kolozsvár–Cluj, Str. Republicii 10, where I have lived since the autumn of 1944 and where I still reside with my wife, daughter, and grandchild. I myself am mostly in Sztána and will continue to be so, but I travel into Kolozsvár and receive everything there.

I gladly accept the commission for the design, but by return post I ask for your clarifying reply to the following points:

1. Where on the plot will the external entrance gate be located, and from where does—or will—the access road lead to the house? I must know this, as it also influences the floor plan arrangement.

2. I need to know how you intend to live your life in this home: which room you wish to use for what purpose, how you wish—or would like—to live, and how you plan to furnish it. Are you thinking of a hermit-like existence, or also of a social life? Should I plan a guest room in the attic (even if it is not to be built out immediately)?

3. What is your family situation? (This is not indiscretion, but I must know.) Are you planning to marry?

4. In short, write to me about everything, so that I can place myself into your present circumstances, your future intentions, and your foreseeable possibilities.

I await and request a detailed reply as soon as possible. In the meantime, I will prepare sketches—for myself. But I can only proceed with serious design work after receiving your response, if I am to act conscientiously. I truly wish to design a good, beautiful, and suitable little house—one that brings no shame upon me and brings you joy. Therefore, please send your reply to my Kolozsvár address. Wishing you happy holidays, and thanking you gratefully for not forgetting me, I remain your elder brother,

with friendship,

Károly Kós”

(Letter from Károly Kós to Gábor Kabay, 24 March 1948. In: Péter Sas (ed.), The Correspondence of Károly Kós*, 2003, pp. 395–397.)*

“(…) I adhered to the main instructions and wishes and tried to understand the situation and adapt to it. I did not increase the total floor area you outlined, but I made the rooms sufficiently large. At the same time, I sought to create an internal circulation system that would make everyday life within the house as comfortable as possible, while clearly separating functions that serve different purposes.

First of all, I added one additional space to the house: a small veranda facing northeast, so that it would receive the morning sun but not the afternoon sun. It can be glazed in such a way (with hook-on and removable glazed frames) that it can function as a winter garden in winter, or in summer the glass panels can be hung only on the windy northern side. I designed a fairly spacious vestibule from which everything can be accessed directly. Its lighting comes from a glazed door, but primarily from the glazed door and window opening onto the veranda (the external entrance door would be double-layered: a solid outer door and an inner door glazed at the top).

From the vestibule, the two rooms, the veranda, the attic stair (from which the kitchen is reached), and the shared WC and bathroom with a ventilated anteroom all open directly. There is also sufficient wall surface left for coat hooks, which are necessary in a vestibule. The attic stair can serve as a mansard stair in the case of a future attic conversion, which is why it opens from the vestibule; in any case, it is important that access to the attic from the kitchen be separate and under cover.

In the case of a mansard, it would be placed on the southern side, and the roof structure has already been designed in such a way that it would only be necessary to insert the timber-framed walls and larger roof windows, and it would be complete. The chimneys already rise in the appropriate locations. For the kitchen, I designed a covered porch-like anteroom toward the rear (west). This is necessary so that wastewater removal and similar activities do not take place through the vestibule. From this covered (and adaptable) porch open the pantry (not directly from the kitchen, which would be undesirable for many reasons) and the cellar stairs. Thus, from the kitchen, one can reach both the attic and the cellar directly under cover. I believe this is a very good solution.

A cellar would be located beneath the vestibule and veranda; if that is not sufficient, it could also extend beneath the kitchen (please inform me of this so that the execution plans and material calculations can be prepared accordingly).

In short, please let me know whether you find this concept appropriate and what you would like to modify regarding the size of the rooms. I have also designated the exact locations of the stoves—will these be satisfactory? In general, please write to me about everything. I conceived the exterior of the building according to the sketch: it would be simple, but with proportions such that it would certainly have an artistic effect, and with a fine hipped roof recalling the old Székely hipped roofs. The smaller articulations of the roof (windows, dormers, etc.) would then do their part as well. (…)”

(Letter from Károly Kós to Gábor Kabay, 3 May 1948, excerpt. In: Péter Sas (ed.), The Correspondence of Károly Kós*, 2003, pp. 397–398.)*