Tenement Houses on Pest as Urban Heritage and Future Task

Text: Viktória Sugár

In addition to the well-known public and religious buildings of Budapest, the landscape and image of the city’s inner districts is largely defined by its tenement houses that cover an area of more than 13 square kilometres and represent unique values. From the beginning of the 19th century, the rapid population growth of the capital city had been accompanied by a persistent housing shortage. This dynamic triggered a cycle of mass construction that created the character of Pest’s inner streets and squares as we know them today. In this sense, the apartment building is not merely a type of residential houses, but also an urban organizing principle: a spatial structure, a social-historical imprint as well as an architectural character all at once.