The reinterpretation of Hungary’s cubic houses building stock

Text and illustration: Tünde Krisztina Tóth

From the mid-20th century on, cubic houses mushroomed with an unstoppable speed, which deeply hit the history of Hungarian housing development. The overwhelming majority of homes in Hungary had been badly damaged during World War II, and rebuilding the missing houses was only launched after 1968. This is the period when the new mansion-like typology of cube houses with a tent shaped roof was born to meet the needs of people ambitioning to promote to the middle class. The majority of our villages and towns are interwoven by such houses either in their original, modified or modernized version. The article below focusses on their justification to exist in the present, and surveys possible ways of their modifications to meet contemporary needs and lifestyles.