Facing Post-War Urban Heritage in Central-Eastern Europe
9 October 2015, Budapest, Hungary

The first doctoral conference organised by the Department of Urban Planning and Design, Faculty of Architecture, Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME).

Throughout Europe, current urban challenges are posed by large-scale ensembles of modernity as a result of post-war development on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The urb/doconf 2015 is the first in a series of a doctoral conference, to be organised on a yearly basis, which will provide a comparative overview of current doctoral research into the physical (built and natural) environment within Central-Eastern Europe (CEE).
Those invited include doctoral researchers, PhD candidates and post-doctoral researchers (maximum five years after obtaining the doctorate degree) specializing in architecture, urban design, urban planning or landscape architecture. The BME Department of Urban Planning and Design wishes to promote cooperation among CEE doctoral institutions, building up a network for future generations of scholars through their specific fields of research.

Main Conference Topics

The first doctoral conference is dedicated to post-war urban heritage in Central-Eastern Europe. In order to compare different perspectives, we welcome papers examining the physical environment under the following topics:
– mass housing
– recreational areas
– industrial sites
– (in)formal urban networks

Considering the four main conference topics/sessions, we are interested in different research methodologies: theoretical frameworks, comparative studies, morphological case studies, research by design methodology, etc.
We seek contributions that (i) test the post-war heritage positions in the changing ideological context after the fall of the Iron Curtain, (ii) investigate the mutual impact of the spatial turn and the critique of functionalism on urbanity, or (iii) examine the role of post-Communist legacy in the formation of new identities.
In addition to theoretical questions, we wish to find pragmatic approaches when responding to the new challenges of sustainability and determining what kind of protection tool-kit is capable of addressing large-scale ensembles problems. Our aim is to discover special similarities and dissimilarities within the Central-Eastern European physical environment, discuss a wide range of options (from preservation to sustainable renewal processes) and create a database on architectural PhD research topics and methodology.

Abstract Submission

Please send an abstract of up to 500 words and a brief academic biography using the template formats.
send your abstract to: doconf2015@urb.bme.hu
submission of abstracts – 30 April 2015
notification of acceptance – 1 May 2015

Conference fees

Participation at the conference is free of charge.

Publications

All accepted abstracts will be reviewed and published in the Book of Abstracts. Selected authors will be invited for review to submit their full papers to the open-access scientific journal Periodica Polytechnica Architecture (http://www.pp.bme.hu/ar).

Conference Language

The official language of the conference is English.

Conference Organiser

The first doctoral conference “Confronting Post-War Urban Heritage in Central-Eastern Europe” is organised by the Department of Urban Planning and Design Faculty of Architecture, Budapest University of Technology and Economics. www.urb.bme.hu

Organizing Committee

Chairwoman: Melinda Benkő, PhD
Secretary: Domonkos Wettstein
For contacts: doconf2015@urb.bme.hu

Pre & Post-Conference Proposals

The conference is linked to the SUSCO Budapest 2015 – Central European Conference on Sustainable Development (7-8 October 2015).
SUSCO Budapest 2015 is part of the SUSCO conference series with the aim to establish a SD network in the Central-Eastern European (CEE) region in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. The network makes possible discussion of the challenges and best practices in the region, in order to exchange relevant experiences and seek common solutions for SD. www.suscobudapest.com
Budapest is famous for its renovated historic city centre. We invite all participants to explore the capital’s built heritage during the conference weekend. After garnering professional experience, we recommend checking out the popular open-air pubs, grungy underground clubs and elegant cocktail bars together with the conference community.
Take advantage of this opportunity to discover Budapest! http://susud.bme.hu/budapest/

Site of the conference:
urb.bme.hu/doconf2015

Host Institute Address:
Department of Urban Planning and Design
Faculty of Architecture, Budapest University of Technology and Economics
www.urb.bme.hu/en
1111 Budapest, Muegyetem rkp. 3. K. II/93
phone: +36(1)463-1319
e-mail: info@urb.bme.hu