On the edge of the Danube River in the town of Szentendre, Hungary, Projectroom—the Hungarian architecture collaboration led by married architects Veronika Juhász and Gábor Fábián—has completed an ecoconscious family home that embodies a philosophy of temperance and sustainability rather than material abundance.
As the pair explain: “Our current way of life is not sustainable. A paradigm shift is necessary.” The home, which they designed and built for themselves, is constructed from hempcrete, lime plaster, wood and locally sourced materials. With a total gross floor area of approximately 105 square meters and a minimal budget, the home emphasises proportion and intentional living, not size or extravagance.
Contextual design
When searching for the plot, Juhász and Fábián had a range of requirements. “We were looking for our place, a living space suitable for children… In the city, in nature, close to water, forest, mountains. Outside the capital, but preferably close to it,” they explain. Their search led them to a formerly abandoned, overgrown plot within Szentendre’s dense, irregular urban fabric that is close to the Danube, local schools and public transport. The architectural response is carefully contextual: it is neither built in a traditional row house configuration nor directly on the property line but instead “gently recedes,” respecting both the plot and the existing surroundings.
An economic floorplan
The home is proportionate to the family’s needs and budget, with a deliberate absence of unnecessary corridors or wasted space. The design’s economic simplicity is part of its ethos—rejecting growth-oriented thinking in favour of essential spatial needs. The house lacks a formal entrance hall, allowing seamless indoor-outdoor connection, and its floorplan spans two levels.
The ground floor features an open-plan living area that merges living, dining and lounge space, directly connected to the garden via large sliding doors. A full-size bathroom sits at one end of this volume. Rather than one central staircase, two ladders connect the ground level to the attic, which maximises usable space. The upper level contains three compact rooms with no dedicated hallway, due to the small span. One side functions as a flexible children’s wing/studio with a continuous wall of windows and adjoining bathroom, and the other incorporates the main bedroom and additional flexible space.
Custom furniture and joinery
The architecture of the home has been completed with furniture designed and built by the owners and architects using Elliotis pine plywood and custom joinery. Their minimalist forms reflecting the project’s experimental approach to materials, surfaces and fittings. On the ground floor, a self-designed composite lamp takes centre stage in the living room-come-workshop.
Biobased construction
The construction utilises a reinforced concrete and wooden structural frame filled with hempcrete for both walls and roof: a homogenous material strategy that improves thermal performance and the ecological impact of the home. Hempcrete was chosen for its low embodied carbon, excellent thermal insulation, breathability, pH-regulated indoor air quality and carbon sequestration properties. The hempcrete walls and roof are insulated with Steico Flex wood-fibre panels and finished with a fine-grained lime plaster (Hessler HP90), left unpainted and soaped in wet areas such as the bathrooms and kitchen to enhance moisture regulation. Window and door frames are crafted from pine and Accoya wood, which increases durability and dimensional stability.
Sustainable and circular design
The family home prioritises bio-based, low-embodied-carbon materials that provide thermal insulation, vapour permeability and carbon sequestration while supporting a healthy indoor environment. Its compact footprint, efficient layout and passive design strategies reduce operational energy demand, while the avoidance of complex mechanical systems and the use of unfinished, durable materials minimise maintenance and replacement over time.
These elements have gained the project recognition in international sustainable materials architecture circles: including nomination for the EUMies Awards 2026 and inclusion in the 2025 MARCH Materials Architecture Competition for its bio-based, biodegradable and circular material use. the project prioritises bio-based, low-embodied-carbon materials that provide thermal insulation, vapour permeability and carbon sequestration while supporting a healthy indoor environment. Its compact footprint, efficient layout and passive design strategies reduce operational energy demand, while the avoidance of complex mechanical systems and the use of unfinished, durable materials minimise maintenance and replacement over time.
