"My ambition is to make life better here, in this country." - an ...

"My ambition is to make life better here, in this country." - an interview
with László Földes architect (GEON Architect Studio, Budapest) made by Erika Katalina
Pásztor, epiteszforum.hu for the '15 years tranzit' exhibition.
EKP: How do you feel yourself in this world?
LF: I’m fine, I’m busy, I have a lot to do, we have to struggle sometimes, but we have some
successes as well.
EKP: What is the latest success?
LF: I have a family house project building, it is almost ready and I’m very glad with it. I have
another project: we built a gym for a very nice secondary school, it is not ready yet, and we
had to fight a lot, work a lot, but finally I hope it will be nice.
EKP: How do you feel yourself as a person? I mean not as a workaholic architect but as a
man in the world? Are you happy with the changes? We have already 15 years of a new
economical system, are you happy with this?
LF: I think the opportunities show much bigger perspective than before. You can do your
private enterprise, you can get projects what you couldn’t get before. You are not under the
pressure of the state bureaucracy, and this is very nice. On the other hand there are many other
challenges. This new capitalism is sometimes very cruel, sometimes stupid. That causes
difficulties of course, and we have to learn how to manage these difficulties.
EKP: You don’t feel better just different, do you?
LF: Obviously I feel better, but it is not a complete harmony what we have today. We have
other kind of frustrations.
EKP: What do you mean by these new kind of frustrations?
LF: When we build house and the constructor is doing a very lousy job, and when we
complain or when we try to turn it to a better direction, and they ignore this, than it is very
frustrating. It is against quality, it is against moral, it is against the normal way of thinking.
This is very frustrating. Or when bureaucrats set back a project and make stupid complains, it
is also frustrating. When I go trough many difficulties, and finally I got a good result, I am
very glad. sometimes I fail, sometimes I succeed.
EKP: It is a learning process...
LF: ..or life itself.
EKP: Are you satisfied with this hip-hop way of life: sometimes up and sometimes down?
LF: I would say that I can’t avoid the circumstances. When circumstances are like this, I have
to manage with these circumstances.
EKP: Would you like to go to a place, where the circumstances are better, more
comfortable? Are you thinking about an easier life?

LF: Actually I don’t really believe that it is a possible way. I would work on a process by
which here life will be better. My aim is not to go to another place and enjoy an easier nicer
life. My ambition is to make life better here, in this country.
EKP: Why?
LF: I think all the citizens, and us architects as well, have a duty, a task. Our duty is to make
life better, more normal, less bureaucratic, of higher quality, and so on.
EKP: It is really nice what you're saying, I really like it. Tell me, please, more details: what
do you mean better life, less bureaucratic, of higher quality? Would you show some examples
about what do you mean exactly?
LF: I can not improve the world as a whole unit. It is too much for me. But I can make efforts
in my field: in architecture or organizing this office. I think these are my possibilities. When I
have an architectural job and I do it according to my best, maybe even better than an average
level, than I feel satisfied. I did something little. I think all the people in Hungary should do
this little effort in their field. If we all do it, this land, this place will be better. While we are
designing buildings, schools, research centers, family homes, water towers, we find very
interesting situations. We can always help with something. I give you an example. More than
ten years ago we designed a forestry school near Visegrád, and since then I have kept the
connection with them. A year ago they did not have a website, and I offered them to create
one, just to connect them with the world. I would like to see them blooming and going well,
and that's why I helped.
EKP: Do you have a secret desire what you would like to achieve or what you would like
reach or would you like to have?
LF: Definitely yes. I would like to organize a spiritually and existentially strong office, which
doesn't not depend very much on clients. Where I can choose among works, and not because I
choosy, but to achieve even higher architectural quality, or at least not to be under a pressure.
EKP: What is in your mind about "architectural quality"? Quality in materials used in the
buildings or in money invested?
LF: I mean quality spiritually. The more dependent you are, the more compromises you
should do. When I look around here, there are very strong offices and very weak offices, too.
Existentially and in the sense of architectural quality as well. I think when you have a strong
office, you have much better chances, too. There are ten people working in our office. It is
very interesting, that if you have a good office or a good studio, it creates extra energy. Ten
creative and talented people can do fabulous things, just because they have a common aim to
design good buildings.
EKP: This is the aim?
LF: That was one aim. The another aim of mine is to have a good family. The two things are
sometimes against each other.
EKP: What do you mean by good family?

LF: Harmonious, friendly, happy:-)
May, 2004 Budapest
Erika Katalina Pásztor
www.epiteszforum.hu
www.architectforum.hu