Mako Hagymatikum

Mako grows onions, has done for two centuries, and the local variety carries a protected designation, so when the town commissioned a thermal bath from Imre Makovecz it got a building that argues with the idea of what a spa looks like: timber and tile forms that swell and taper, domes suggested by onion shapes, curving ribs, coloured glass and interior spaces that feel closer to a wooden church than a leisure centre. It opened in 2012, shortly before the architect's death, and is one of the last works of the organic school he led. Beneath the architecture it is a functioning thermal complex with indoor and outdoor pools fed by hot mineral water, saunas and a medical wing.

What you actually see

• Makovecz's organic forms - timber ribs, tile and swelling domes.
• Onion-shaped roofs - the town's crop referenced in the building.
• Thermal and cold pools - the working spa under the architecture.
• Coloured glass interiors - light handled as in his churches.

When to go

Year round; thermal bathing is most enjoyable in the cold months. Half a day. Weekends and school holidays are busy. Bring a swimming cap for some pools.

Honest expectations

It is a working public bath, so the architecture is experienced among crowds, lockers and chlorine. Photography inside is restricted. Mako itself is a quiet border town with little else. The medical wing operates separately.

Nearby

Szeged is west; the Romanian border lies east.