The idea of founding a Bauhaus-type school in Budapest originated as a shared concept from Bortnyik, architect Molnár, architecture critic Pál Forgó, and poet Árpád Szélpál (1897–1987), who first formed the Új építők társasága (Association of new architects).[4] As Bortnyik said in our 1972 interview and announced in several articles[5] about the Műhely (workshop), he planned an ambitious school project whose curriculum was to include architecture, theory, product designs for mass production, history, and graphic design. The school opened in his own apartment in Budapest,[6] far more modestly than his original ideas had been. Its focus was on advertising design. Some of those who attended the Műhely became internationally famous artists in various fields, among them animation filmmaker János Halász (John Halas, 1912–1995), painter Vásárhelyi Győző (Victor Vasarely, 1906–1997) and his wife Klára Spinner (Claire Vasarely,1908–1997), photographer Ata Kandó (1913–2017), her husband, painter Gyula Kandó (1908–1968), or graphic designer and illustrator Vera Csillag (1909–1997). Hungarian animation film artist Gyula Macskássy (1912–1971), graphic designers Tibor Szántó (1912-2001) and György Radó (1912–1994) also studied at the Műhely. Most of the students attended the school’s evening classes as they already worked during the day but needed to update their skills or systematic professional education.[7]

In 1929, the Műhely was moved over to Bortnyik’s studio in Nagymező Street 3. Bortnyik had to give up on the idea of studios for ceramics and architecture for lack of space and financial resources. Even though he was not able to employ prominent artists, he invited Molnár and literary and film theorist Iván Hevesy (1893–1966) to give lectures. The Műhely did not have a finalized curriculum, but Bortnyik used basic geometric forms to teach visual composition and rhythm.[8] In our 1972 conversation he underlined that he followed van Doesburg’s and De Stijl’s aesthetics rather than Johannes Itten’s methodology in the early years of the Bauhaus.

Sándor Bortnyik’s Műhely, the „Budapest Bauhaus”, 1928–1938