Ödön Lechner, the internationally acclaimed artist of Hungarian Secession, based his distinctive style on this material—and used it on landmark buildings like the Geological Institute of Hungary, the Museum of Applied Arts, and the Royal Postal Savings Bank (Postatakarék).

Several landmark buildings, including the Parliament building and the Museum of Applied Arts, demonstrate the exceptional achievements of the Zsolnay factory in the production of architectural ceramics.
Zsolnay architectural ceramics were widely used and became dominant on public buildings in Budapest and several other cities, mostly at the turn of the century.
The number of buildings decorated with Zsolnay ceramics in the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy exceeds 250. An important amount of Zsolnay external and internal architectural design elements can be found in Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, and Ukraine, but the creations of the factory reach as far as the church building of Johnstown in the United States.