József Fischer

1901-1995 born in Budapest. Modernist architect and urban planner. Member of the Hungarian group of the International Congress of Modern Architecture (CIAM). He married fellow architect and planner, Eszter Pécsi.

Fischer was involved in the interwar year’s development of the Pasarét neighbourhood of Budapest famed for its International Style villas. The district, considered elite, was home to many notable figures including Bela Bartok.

In 1934 he went into partnership with Marcel Breuer and Farkas Molnár until Breuer’s departure for London in 1935.

He designed the pavillions for both the 1935 and 1939 International Fair in Budapest together with Farkas Molnár  and CIRPAC.

After WW2 he worked on government projects on behalf of the government and edited an important architecture magazine called Tér és Forma (Space and Time). Fischer became very involved in local politics rising to the position of Minister in the Government of Imre Nagy. However, challenges in the political climate limited his political career. Ultimately he left Hungary and moved to New York in 1965. He returned to Hungary in 1978.

Amongst his designs is the Hoffman Villa