The family house in Pálvölgy came to life through the renewal of an existing residential building. Although only the foundation walls and the internal stairwell of the earlier house could be kept, avoiding full demolition and partly reusing the structure allowed us to strengthen an environmentally conscious approach to building. The terraced design of the hillside house responds to the morphology of the surroundings, and every level has a large, usable, well-oriented terrace connection to the outdoors, opening onto the full panorama of Budapest. The cantilevered glass balustrades of the terraces and the full-height glazing expand the interior completely and let inside and outside live together. “Simple lines, horizontal emphasis and the opening up of the white walls in a single plane give the house its subtly pulsing rhythm, which the asymmetrical shifting of the gently narrowing upper levels complements with beautifully drawn play of shadows in the sunshine. It is as if the masses of the hill and the directions of the streets were being restated here with the means of architecture. Plastic details are avoided: the openings stay almost within the plane of the wall, the cornices running along the edges of the slabs are merely suggested, and every element fits into a strict, neutral geometric system. Yet it is not indifferent; rather, it is modest and stays in the background. It does not draw attention to itself but concentrates on the beauty of the forest-edge landscape. By using precisely the shadows among the effects of the environment to convey depth, it is far more a part of the landscape than its master.” Excerpt from Octogon 2023/8, “House overlooking the valley”, pp. 50–55