Creative Hungary – Engineering Expertise and Knowledge

Associated with the Hungarian presidence of the the European Union Brussels also hosted several cultural programmes such as exhibitions, concerts and meetings to present the history, faculties and values of the country. This exhibition surveying Hungarian engineering inventions is based on the achievements and innovations of the past to represent…

Gilded Past

The special commercial-architectural philosophy of the Orco Group is reflected in the reconstruction of Váci1 as a historic monument acquiring now a new function. After the success of the Parisian Department, the rebirth of the palace standing on the corner of Vörösmarty Square is a fine example of how the preservation of man-made heritage can be matched…

High-tech with a Gable

Our relationship with wine lies at the very heart of European culture. The mysticism of wine consecrated the location of its production for centuries. In Hungary the sixty years after the World War brought about the crisis of both estate-sized and family-scale of wine-growing. The patinated cellars of the former were replaced with the rigid industrial buildings…

Architecture Turning into a Landscape

Not far from the shore of the Lake of Geneva the Federal Technical College of Lausanne (EPFL) has found its new home as architects of SANAA actually realized the concept defined in the title. The range of the Alps and the countryside are not only present as a picturesque background but also as the main characters of an architectural analogy.

Finally in its Place

The rebirth of the legendary MOM culture house did not only mean the reconstruction of its historic details and the creation of a spatial structure meeting today’s functional requirements: the building has become the focus of the new public space simultaneously adjusting to local events in the past few years and offering a venue for prestigious programmes…

Contemporary Benedictine Architecture

The reception building actually nestles into the landscape, as only its main facade is visible: the structure itself is hidden underground. On the site of the former chapel there is now an auditorium, conveniences, information and ticket counter. The building was built of the most favourite materials of contemporary architecture: exposed concrete, glass…

The House of Life

The harmful effects of civilization tend to cause more and more cases of kidney disease in town-dwellers’ bodies bombarded by poisons. At least every other person affected thus in Hungary is treated now by the instruments and according to instructions of the German company named Fresenius specialized in equipment for nephritic patients.

Sustainable Reconstruction of Historic Districts

The research project carried out now at the Department of Urbanistics in BME (Budapest Technical University) has set the goal to define the criteria of the integrated sustainability of the urban rehabilitation of Budapest. Sustainability is now a basic concept of urbanistics, architecture, technical sciences, society and economy, but the majority of the projects…

After the Red Sludge Flood

In the autumn of 2010 nobody may have thought that life would return once again to Kolontár and Devecser after the red sludge disaster. However, after nine months – which is an unbelievably short time – it seems so. Dwellers could move into the 21 rebuilt houses in Kolontár in June and into 87 new ones in Devecser at the end of July.

From the Earth, from the Sun

One of the most outstanding programmes of the Spring Architectural Festival in March was the Zero CO2 conference now organized for the fourth time. This was the forum where László Szekér, the head of Renewable Resources in the Artificial Environment for a Sustainable Future MÉSZ-UIA-ARES working team presented the highest passive house in Europe…

Heritage Amnesia

Being invited by ICOMOS Deutschland to the international conference organized in Berlin titled Jewish cemeteries and funeral culture in Europe (Jüdische Friedhöfe und Bestattungskultur in Europa) I presented the Israelite cemetery in Salgótarjáni Street on April 5th, 2011. I was amazed to see how many of the participants knew about it and were desperate…

Everyday Guide

The Earth Day Foundation assumed an amazing task when deciding to compile a basic work as a book titled Everyday Guide from the technical literature available in Hungarian language. Covering more than 400 pages, this publication presents in a systematic and logical order whatever anyone in Hungary could do for the sake of sustainability in this country in 2011.