Lajos Csibi Cottage, Borszék

This design, together with the related project for the Szentimrei family house of 1924, was conceived for the mountain resort of Borszék in Székelyland. The use of timber beams and stone not only reflects the materials available locally but also serves as a direct metaphor for the surrounding pine-covered mountain slopes. This effect is further reinforced by the structural characteristics of the materials themselves: the exterior appearance strongly emphasizes the “stoneness” of stone and the “timberness” of beams.

The later and larger villa designed for Dr. Csíki (1932), also built in a comparable setting, similarly relied exclusively on timber and stone. The hand of the craftsman is evident on the exterior only in the columns of the open veranda and in the profiled boarding of the upper gable. The narrow windows on the main façade open from the hall, which was characterized by an exposed timber ceiling, a fireplace, and finely carved furniture, recalling Kós’s early design Small Family House: An Experiment in Székely Vernacular Style (1906).