HOW WE

R E A LLY LIVE
IN
P A N E L BLOCKS
w r i t t e n & e d i t e d b y T i m e a C s a b a

HOW WE R E A L LY L I V E I N
PANEL BLOCKS
C a s e S t u d y o n t h e c o n d i t i o n s a n d p o t e n c i a l s

o f L a r g e H o u s i n g E s t a t e s i n b u d a p e s t

- f o r s u s t a i n a b l e d e v e l o p m e n t

2 0 0 6 .
7 I. INTRODUCTION – GENERAL OVERVIEW
7 LOCALIZATION – MAPS
12 ACTUAL SITUATION IN NUMBERS
13 BUILDING TYPOLOGY

15 II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND – 40 YEARS OF PANEL HOUSING

15 THE STATE’S IDEOLOGY
19 “EXPERIMENTAL PANEL DISTRICT” IN ÓBUDA
21 PANEL-FACTORIES AND TYPE BUILDINGS
29 ‘GIFTS’ OF THE SOCIALISM - FOUNDATION OF THE PRESENT
SOCIETY OF PANEL COLONIES
30 IMPORTANCE OF 1989.

33 III. PROBLEMS, ISSUES IN DETAILS

33 PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT, BUILDINGS
37 SOCIAL OVERVIEW AND TENDENCIES
38 SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT

43 IV. BASIC DIFFERENCES ON SOCIAL ISSUES BETWEEN WESTERN

COUNTRIES AND HUNGARY IN LARGE ESTATE AREAS
43 IDEOLOGY BEHIND THE POWER – AIMED CLASSES OF SOCIETY
45 SOCIAL SEGREGATION AT THE END OF 20 CENTURY
TH

47 DIFFERENCES IN OWNERSHIP AND THEIR AFTERMATH

50 V. SOLUTIONS AIMED AT PANEL REHABILITATION

50 EXISTING GOVERNMENTAL PROGRAMS
52 URBAN THEORIES – PROPOSALS FOR A REALIZABLE SOLUTION

61 CONCLUSION

62 RELATED WORKS

65 BIBLIOGRAPHY
L O C A L I S A T I O N O F L A R G E E S T A T E A R E A S I N B U D A P E S T
I. I N T R O D U C T I O N – GENERAL OVERVIEW

BÉKÁSMEGYER

KÁPOSZTÁSMEGYER Localization – maps

It is already a common place that as much as one third of

PÓK UTCAI
the total population in Budapest lives in prefab panel
ÓBUDA buildings.
It is though less common to know that against the public
ÚJPEST TOWNCENTRE opinion the inhabitants of these buildings are in a large scale
content with their homes.
ÚJPALOTA

Nevertheless, the proportion of inhabitants does not

correspond with the area that the prefab buildings occupy
from the total territory of Budapest, which derives from their
density.
RÁKOSFALVA
ZUGLÓ As a general characteristic it can be mentioned that the prefab
buildings were always built up as a ‘colony’ meaning both
NYOLCKER that we rarely see them standing alone but always in groups
or as whole districts and that their inhabitants were settled
there by governmental decision – thus during this document
KŐBÁNYA-ÚJHEGY
the name ‘colony’ will be used for a certain area of prefab
JÓZSEF ATTILA LAKÓTELEP
buildings that belong together. This is also the expression
used nation-wide in Hungary.
KISPEST
Generally, these colonies are settled in the outer districts of
HAVANNA Budapest, well spread in the municipal boundary and always
in good connection with public transport facilities, mainly
BUDAFOK
along the metro or suburban railway (HÉV) lines.
CSEPEL TOWN CENTRE This can be explained from the fact that even in the socialist
era the economical aspects were highly important, they could
only be altered by state aspects and so one would endeavour
GAZDAGRÉT
to reduce the collateral building costs -such as territorial
ŐRMEZŐ preparation new infrastructure- to the minimum.

KELENFÖLD
Extending the for-mentioned fact, according to localization we
can determine three different categories:
ƒcolonies built in the inner city (only 8% belongs here)
ƒouter districts surrounding the inner city (3 quarter of
the prefabs are concerned)
PREFAB BUILDING COLONY ƒthe rest built up in the further suburbs

METRO 1 METRO 2 METRO 3 METRO 4 HÉV

1. Káposztásmegyer phase I. (1985-) 2. Újpest town center phase I. (1969-72; 1974-85) 6. Újpalota (1968-1985) 7. Kerepesi út-Nagy Lajos király út (1954-1961)

1. 3. Füredi út - Örs vezér tér (1964-1982)

8. Újpest towncentre phase II. (1980-1986) 9. József Attila lakótelep (1958-66; 1978-82)
2. 8.

6.

1.

7.

4.

10.

11.
5. 9.

10. Kispest towncentre (1971-1986) 11. Havanna lakótelep (1976-1981)

Panel colonies from above

- situation plans -
4. Kőbánya-Újhegy (1974-1986) 5. Csillagtelep, Csepel (1954-1967; 1971)

12. Gazdagréti lakótelep (1981-1990) 13. Kelenföld lakótelep (1966-1983) 17. Lágymányosi lakótelep (1957-1964) 18. Kaszásdűlő (1985-1990)

16.
15.

20.

18.
19.
12.

14.

13.

17. 14. Őrmező (1977-1983)

19. Óbuda towncentre 20. Pók utca lakótelep

Panel colonies from above

10 15. Békásmegyer phase V-IX. (1972-85) 16. Békásmegyer phase I-IV. (1972-85) - situation plans - 11
Actual situation in numbers Building typology

There are 115 so-called colonies in the Hungarian capital

altogether. As one would think, it is easy to determine a prefab building
only by its outlook –a greyish box-shape house with equal
windows on each side - but the variety goes much further.
Table I. Distribution of the population in Budapest (1990)
Zones Population Nr. % In the late ‘50s the colonies start to appear as the
1. City Centre 702 955 34.86
government’s decision to compensate the gap in the real
2. Industrial Areas 40 925 2.03
3. Prefab Colonies 708 777 35.14 estate market. The first colonies were built with traditional
4. Low-rise villas, week-end 12 708 5.09 technologies until the mid-sixties when the government
house decided to import the more effective, reliable and less
5. Family Houses, Garden-City 461 409 22.88 expensive panel-technology.
Altogether 2 016 774 100.00

Data source: in 1990, the year after the fall of the socialist It is the year 1966 when the first estate built with industrial
regime, a national census was held which is still the most technology was completed in Kelenföld.
relevant in recent years.
The typology of colonies thus shows an enormous variety from
garden-city-like 3 story-high brick houses to urban high-rise
Table II. Alteration in the population growth prefabs.
As for the prefab buildings, two specific expressions in
Population Nr. Change
Zones Hungarian terminology also exist referring to the shape of the
1990 1996 %
1. City Centre 702 955 545 114 -22.45 building:
2. Industrial Areas 40 925 54 433 33.01 ƒ the point-block
3. Prefab Colonies 708 777 643 976 -9.14 ƒ the ribbon development
4. Villas, week-end houses 12 708 137 900 34.26
5. Family Houses, Garden- 461 409 475 459 3.04
City The blocks for edifices built with industrial technology were
Altogether 2 016 1 856 -7.93 made in the so-called ‘house factories’, described in the
774 882 following chapter.

From Table II. it can clearly be seen that there is a slow

reduction in the total population amount and its measure is
approximately the same as in the prefab buildings.

12 13
II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
40 YEARS OF PANEL HOUSING

For understanding both the actual composition of social

classes inhabiting the colonies and the position of the edifices
in the real estate market, a closer look must be taken on the
specific factors that lead to the current situation.
In this chapter the prefab colonies are examined from a
historical point of view.

The State’s ideology

Its importance lies in the fact that in the social era the
large estate settlements were to symbolise and
manifest everything that the socialism thought of its
own dwelling construction methods and policies.
In brief, towards the public these were: equality among social
classes and redistribution.
As an extreme example of this ideology Dunaújváros can be
mentioned, an artificially settled town along the Danube,
where these large estate settlements became an autonomous
city.

During the socialism, the State preserved the demand and

supply of the real estate market as his own privilege. As well
as on other fields of the economy, the competitive market
conditions could not prevail. National Economic Plans were to
determine the level of supply in housing, the number and
quality of dwellings to be constructed.
According to the announced ideology, the socialism ensured
a home for everyone; therefore the salaries would not
contain the costs of a home building. It was the State’s duty
to provide housing.

15
Chart I.
Nevertheless, state dwelling constructions were always Compared rate of built
exceeded by private construction at an average proportion of dwellings by the State
40-60% in favour of the private initiatives. Parallel to the and by the private
sector.
state sector, a private housing market also came to existence.
The former meant for dwellings financed and constructed by source: Gábor Preisich
the State while the latter was characterised by private –mainly
family co-operations, named ‘kaláka’– building initiatives,
rarely supported financially by State.
Consequently two real estate markets would exist next to
each other.

Despite its name, in the private sector we can neither speak

about real market conditions. These houses were only allowed
to be built in smaller townships, where obviously no state
constructions were found. This market was also limited by the Nr. of built homes in total
following factors:
ƒcounter march against luxury buildings
ƒ‘enclosed city’ policy
ƒprinciple of “one family = one home”
ƒstrict employment policy
ƒpermanent shortage in construction Private constructions
material in this sector

Due to the hindered private sector and the officially

announced policy of the State about redistribution, one used
to associate a higher social status to the flats in panel blocks,
which image persisted till the end of ‘80s.
Table III.
Number of dwellings built in the capital and the rate of constructed State housing
panel blocks
source: Adrienn Csizmady

Built dwellings
Decade %
Overall Panel Blocks
1949-60 81 483 23 140 28.4
1961-70 109 759 53 474 48.7
1971-80 162 922 127 005 76.1
1981-90 119 129 88 712 74.5
1991-98 27 592 5 919 21.5
Altogether 500 885 298 250 59.54

16 17
“Experimental Panel District” in Óbuda

The idea of an experimental panel district

originates in a similar project built in Hansa-Viertel,
Berlin.
While the German fellow project was meant to be
an international exhibition, the Experimental Panel
District in Óbuda was concentrating on a national
level, namely to prepare the mass housing of
the coming decades.

The two projects had though one similar aim: to

represent the most modern living conditions and
flat forms at that time. At the beginning of the
sixties, at a predefined site in Óbuda, various
building forms and flat types were built, all
different from each other and each to define a flat
or dwelling type, inserted and combined in vast
prefab projects all around Hungary.

The government following the revolution of 1956.

envisaged to construct as much as 1million homes
within 15 years, of which 250 thousand were to be
completed in the following five-year National
Economic Plan.

18
Panel-factories and type buildings

To accelerate housing development and to industrialize the

construction, the government had a strong belief in creating
the now notorious “house-factories”.

The prefabricated blocks meant for these mainly high-rise

buildings were produced in these specialized factories. Almost
each county’s chief town had such a factory and also a
“design-corporation” behind them.

These factories were located (and can still be found in their

ruins) in the following Hungarian towns:

- Békéscsaba - Miskolc
- Budapest - Pécs
- Debrecen - Szeged
- Dunaújváros - Szolnok
- GyĘr - Szekszárd
- Kaposvár - Veszprém
- Kecskemét

From the early ‘70s type plans had to be drawn by these

large architectural firms, plans that would be used in
numerous places all over in Hungary. They were collected into
the Catalogue for Prefab Building Types.
This results in the fact that any prefab building in Hungary has
a type plan in this Catalogue and its floor plans can easily be
found only by looking at photos from its façade.

The buildings’ outlook is determined by three categories, that

have their own varieties:
ƒnumber of floors (for living): 5 – 10 - 11
ƒapartments per floor: 3 – 4 – (4+1) – 6 – 8 – 10
ƒsections (1 staircase=1 section): 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5

For instance it is known that for a point-block, the most

common used combination is:
11 floors / 6 or 8 apart. per floor / 1 section.

Below are some exemplary types copied from the Catalogue.

21
MOT II. 58-231/76-K MOT II. 58-231/76-K

64 flats - average 50.73 m2

15 flats - average 57.68 m 2
11 floors for living - 6 flats per floor
5 floors for living - 3 flats per floor 1 section

22 23
MOT II. 58-280/76-K MOT II. 58-280/76-K

50 flats - average 60.98 m2

10 floors for living - 4+1 flats per floor
2 sections
24 25
MOT I. 58-311/76-K MOT I. 58-311/76-K

100 flats - average 51.62 m2

10 floors for living - 10 flats per floor
1 section

26 27
Gifts’ of the socialism
- Foundation of the present society of panel colonies -

When the boom of the panel-block construction began in the

early ‘70s, the housing shortage and the low comfort of old
buildings –a legacy of the II World War’s destruction- could
still be perceived. On the other hand, the increase of
population at the end of the ‘60s (a growth of 30 thousand
person/year) also put pressure on the State. Consequently,
the state’s housing program was welcomed throughout the
country.

In the name of equality the socialist regime aimed to provide

flats for anyone in need. The massive construction was
preceded by careful planning, i.e. elaboration of type-plans by
means of new standards for living and designing modern
furniture. On the outcome a ‘modern’ flat was born that
represented a high rate of comfort at that time – therefore it
somehow symbolized honour to possess a flat in a
prefabricated high-rise building. Counting into consideration
as well that the salaries did not contain the costs that a
private house-construction would have required, it can be
declared that obtaining such a flat was a gift from the State.

The State’s starting point at the distribution was:

ƒthe need for new housing (large families, lower income)
ƒposition of the employee, i.e. in consideration of his services

Mainly because of the earlier mentioned qualities in comfort, it

was rather the second criteria that prevailed in the distribution
of the flats and so was not as equal as announced but a little
bit shifted to the intellectual class.
Although only true for the ‘70s, this has founded the large
variety of walks of life inhabiting the panel blocks even
nowadays.

Afterwards an alteration in the policy can be observed, and

one colony was aimed for one certain class. For instance we
know that Békásmegyer was built especially for large families,
Újpalota at first for those who were dislodged from the inner
city. As an aftermath the social status of these colonies are
lower and these are the ones that are mainly exposed to risk
not only physical but also social deterioration.

29
Importance of 1989.

MIGRATION WITHIN THE CITY AND IN THE COLONIES

CHANGES IN THE REAL ESTATE MARKET

Due to the aspects mentioned above, a slow but perceptible

Best described by the following chart can we draw conclusions migration began in the mid ‘90s and is still going on
about the changes generated by 1989. nowadays.

The image of Havanna for instance, is reflected in the housing These aspects are aftermaths of social tendencies that seem
prices. Its reason is rooted in the bad reputation of the estate to be valid in other Central and Eastern European (CEE)
(after the classes of society that was moved there in the ‘70s countries as well and it is important to elucidate them so that
and the very low public safety –though improved nowadays- it the deterioration of the colonies can be prevented.
was told to be a true ‘ghetto’ few years ago). The summarized aspects that have been indicating migration
Prices here are influenced not only by objective facts such as from 1989 on are as follows:
the condition of the buildings and public spaces and the
distance from the city centre; marketing and historic prejudice
also has a part to play. ƒ widening of the real estate market / increasing
construction of so-called living-parks financed
by private investors
ƒ growth of income in the upper middle-class that
allows moving from the prefab buildings
ƒ lack of building maintenance
ƒ high general expenses on heating, electricity
ƒ permanently decreasing judgement on the
overall image of a panel colony
ƒ general migration towards the agglomeration.

Though urban experts perceive the migration, we cannot

speak of desertion of entire blocks as it happened in Eastern
Germany. As the degree of saturation of these buildings is still
high, this movement can rather be named to ‘change of
social classes’.

Nevertheless, if the image of the colonies and the installation

of poorer classes would persist, the social status of the panel
blocks would be a strong reason for concern and will likely to
bear the same character as their occidental counterparts.

30 31
I I I . P R O B L E M S , I S S U E S I N D E T A I L S

Physical environment: buildings

distance heating system
Generally, when one speaks about the rehabilitation of prefab
buildings, he means the renovation of the physical conditions;
let it be either a simple inhabitant or a government aid
program.
migration
It is true that one’s living quality is mainly determined by the
conditions of the building he lives in.
Below are some details to show an overview about the
importance of renovation.

ESTIMATION OF LIFE EXPECTANCY

bad reputation
Despite common belief that thought the prefab buildings to
last no more than 30 years after their completion, these
m on ot on ity buildings are now estimated for a life expectancy of 100
years, which is basically meant for the reinforced concrete
structure.

From a static point of view, these estates built with industrial

d e n s i t y
technologies are stable, reliable structures. Therefore, the
renovation process is not meant for stability maintenance but
for technical components.
i n s u l a t i on
The actual condition issues rather arise from the technical
side: the technical systems stand for a life expectancy of 30
p a r k i n g lots years. Regarding that the first buildings were built in the late
60’s the sudden growth of repairing problems can easily be
understood.
Pipes and insulation are the most repeatedly mentioned
problems and also their renovation is supported financially in
the government habitation aid programs of the recent years.

The main reasons for this phenomena originates at the quality

neglected playgrounds
of the construction:
ƒ imperfection of the technology
ƒ bad quality of building materials
“ s oc i a l i st shops”
ƒ unskilled labour

33
This all resulted in the fact that buildings had disadvantages
even at the transfer of the buildings.

THE INEVITABLE RENOVATIONS

The modernization of the following technical components is

unavoidable (list in order of importance):

1. solution for a more economic

heating system
2. change of insulation
3. change of the complete window -
system
4. outmoded electrical net, necessary
renovation of elevators

As late as the mid-nineties, there were only a few number of

Post-insulation tendencies apartments to be in need for a complete renovation. At the
when the lack of governmental millennium, however, the number of flats requiring partial
subsidies and the nature force the
renovation was as high as 18 thousand.
occupants to act on their own...
According to the following estimation for the future, hundreds
of thousand of flats could become uninhabitable, which shows
At the joint of the panels the ma-
that the renovation cannot be delayed anymore.
terial of the weather strips shrank
and created ways for the cold to
infiltrate.
Number of flats waiting to be renovated till 2020 (counting with 30
In the mid ‘90s when there was years of renovation cycles)
no nation-wide program for panel
rehabilitation but when the prob-
lem started to arise, the occupants Budapest Country Overall
themselves with the help of indus-
trial alpinists tried to solve the 1991-1995 1 850 746 2 596
problem, creating weird facades
1996-2000 15 956 15 139 31 095
with accidentally appearing post-
insulation. 2001-2005 41 324 70 779 112 103
2006-2010 52 023 101 106 153 129
2011-2015 51 441 78 534 129 975
2016-2020 28 627 50 345 78 972
Altogether 191 221 316 649 507 870

34 35
Social overview and tendencies

VARIOUS CLASSES OF SOCIETY INHABITING THE ‘COLONIES’

As mentioned earlier, large housing estates in Hungary

accommodate a significant part of the country’s population.
“Although their status is rather low in today’s housing market,
they represented a relative high standard when they were
built. They also eased the chronic shortage of flats after WWII.
They were built between the early 1960s and the end of the
80s, with most units constructed in the 70s. With the passing
of time not only their size changed but also their population
went through a considerable metamorphosis. Whereas in the
1960s generally smaller estates were built with a high status
population residing there, estates constructed in the 70s were
usually bigger and had a less affluent and lower status
population. In the 1980s people who could afford it either did
not move into large housing estates or considered it a
temporary solution.
…
The mass-scale privatisation in the early 1990s mostly
strengthened the original character of the estates. The
variance that had existed before was amplified; some estates
have emerged as rather prestigious areas while others have
slid downwards. Despite the worsening conditions and the
scarce national help, housing estates still do not represent the
lowest segment of the housing market: their maintenance
costs are high – the units are heated by district heating being
one of the costliest in Hungary – which keeps the poorest
families away.”(e)

36 37
Surrounding environment

From an urban point of view, the surroundings of the panel

blocks, i.e. the public spaces, roads, parking places and public Nonetheless, these new residential dwellings, especially
buildings show a large variety in qualities and potentials. those in the downtown area do not offer better living
Generally speaking it can be declared that even nowadays the circumstances than the colonies (except for the technical
conscious forming or renewal of these public spaces is an solutions), as they can be all characterized by:
unfairly neglected topic in panel rehabilitation in Hungary
whereas the image of a colony –for a stranger at least– is ƒtiny apartments of 1 or 1.5 rooms (around 30-40m2)
largely determined by the outlook or the use of these spaces.
This way of thinking that the surrounding determines the ƒhigh-rise buildings, sometimes reaching the limit 30m
living conditions of the individual is completely missing when – but in the same urban structure as before, which
deciding about subsidies. There is not one authority that results in dark courtyards and too close neighbours
would focus on this problem, nor a governmental program
on the opposite side;
inspiring such ideas, though it would be their responsibility.
ƒwhile in the prefab colonies the average number of
ADVANTAGES
flats vary from 15-50-64-100, at these new
Today, in the days of massive construction of “living parks” constructions it is not rare to find housing complexes
one tends to forget about the advantages of the prefab with over 200 flats;
colonies regarding the forming of its public spaces. Despite
being high-rise buildings with high density of inhabitants, a ƒthe high density of flats is never accompanied with
few decades ago the planners did care about the surroundings the same amount of greenery as at the prefab
compared to the construction methods of the past few years.
colonies nor large open-air spaces for compensation;
These advantages briefly are:
ƒthough the technical solutions are now in a good
ƒ large open-air spaces among the blocks
condition but their distribution or their quality is
(either as greenery or parking)
disputable also that in what condition they will be in
ƒ trees that grown up during the past 10-40 years
the next few decades. Besides, window-less kitchens
ƒ playground for children
are built in a higher amount than they were in the
(though in bad conditions)
prefab buildings.
ƒ well-dispersed public functions, such as
kindergartens, schools, healthcare centres, shops
Due to the above-mentioned characteristics it would be a
and sometimes even “houses for culture” mistake to neglect the advantages of the prefab colonies in
(albeit with a debatable architectural forming) favour of the new investments, when by rehabilitating the
surrounding environment of panel-blocks, a pleasant
Speaking about housing policies nowadays, officials tend to and safe image can be formed to change the fame of the
refer proudly to the progress of private housing constructions colonies.
and investments, and these new flats are also supported by
governmental programs targeting young couples who are
establishing their first home.

38 39
vv

THE GREEN POTENTIAL

well-lit facades
overlooking on greenery
The amount of greenery is significantly
higher in panel colonies than in any
other urban territories, not to mention
that besides such a density of popu-
lation. Although the components for
a pleasant residential area are usu-
ally given, these public spaces are not
maintained nor developed by a higher
authority. Inviting landscape designers
and urban planners for revitalisation
could help reconsidering these open-air
spaces as real recreation areas, parks
or urban gardens.

grown up trees

playgrounds
usually in neglected conditions

large open-air spaces

40
IV. BASIC DIFFERENCES ON SOCIAL
ISSUES BETWEEN WESTERN
COUNTRIES AND HUNGARY IN
LARGE ESTATE AREAS

Ideology behind the power – aimed classes of society

I.
Panel “villages” in Cluj Napoca, Romania To understand and treat well -both architecturally and from an
urban point of view- the evolved situation around the panel
blocks, it is essential to examine not only technical issues but
also the current social composition and the social tendencies
in the background.

Even the architects tend to pass over the social aspects of

these colonies and they only care about the physical
environment: the outlook, the reliability of the insulation or
the humanity of the surrounding. These are substantial values
but it would be a mistake to forget about the inhabitants
themselves, i.e. the social characteristics.
Shrinking cities - Germany

During the socialism, the prefab building construction was the

only form of state housing. The private market was
hindered and there were no other possibilities for building. To
obtain the money for the ‘panel-block’ investments meant for
the municipalities to be able to develop or expand their cities.
In a way, the prefab colonies were not only habitations but
also they were at the same time the main streams of urban
development and the colonies gradually became integral parts
of the modern city.
It was on the other hand not only pure housing but as well an
infrastructural investment, for with this vast number of
new dwellings it was unavoidable to construct primary
schools, kindergartens, food shops/supermarkets and
surgeries.

To illustrate that between building panel blocks and city

development once had been an equal mark, we only have to
look at the centres of Békéscsaba, Veszprém, Szolnok,
Zalaegerszeg or as close as the town-centre of Csepel where
the heart of the city is composed of prefab builidings.

Social problems - les banlieus de Paris

43
One of the reasons in the background was that in the era of Social segregation at the end of 20th century
‘controlled economy’ the available financial sources were
entirely devoted to set up districts of new, fully comforted Owing to this social redistribution, no ghettos or districts of
prefab buildings and not to rehabilitate old city centres nor to the poor evolved in these prefab colonies – but neither had
support private housing. they developed into districts of high social status. Basically
they are estimated to be on middle-level both in social
judgement and on the real estate market.
II.
Therefore one of the most significant characteristics that Nevertheless, the year 1989 with the fall of the social regime
discern the Hungarian panel-block housing from its Western brought in factors that changed housing policies, fragmented
counterpart is that it the once homogeneous society and the first signs of
was NOT meant to be a social housing project, amortization of the buildings appeared as well.
aimed to help the poorer classes of society but theoretically
for everyone. Presumable reasons:
ƒ there was money to raise the buildings but no one
In Hungary, the prefab colonies had been and still are home thought to take care of them that withdrew an
for a population of highly varied walks of life, which is
due to a governmental policy for population settlement. This unavoidable physical amortization
originates in two principles of the State at that time: ƒ new, more convenient forms of dwellings emerged
in the real estate market that drew away the richer
ƒsocial redistribution classes or prevented wealthier young couples to
ƒthe prefab colonies were believed to be the move in to prefab flats;
solution for the social problems of socialist cities. ƒ a sudden change in the State’s housing policy

That is why we can find for instance a professor living in the WESTERN EUROPE
close neighbourhood of a plumber. To show the rate of mixed From the mid ‘80s decline of the social status of the
society lets have a look on the following chart. inhabitants in the suburb districts can be perceived. These
districts as areas of social housing (e.g. in Paris) were a
melting pot for all kinds of nations but generally poor classes.
Academic Physical Slum in these suburbs means an equal problem as those in
Zones qualification workers % the downtowns.
%
1. City Centre 21.6 47.7 Due to migration and the actual problem of shrinking cities,
2. Industrial Areas 7.8 76.4 whole districts of panel blocks become abandoned, and stand
3. Prefab Colonies 17.4 50.7 empty, as for instance in East Germany or in the Netherlands.
4. Low-rise villas, week-end 41.6 27.3
house HUNGARY
5. Family Houses, Garden- 13.2 57.3 In Hungary none of the above mentioned tendencies came to
City being. The mixed social classes inhabiting the panel colonies
Altogether 19.1 50.7 prevented the rise of ghettos; and although the number of
inhabitants in Budapest are decreasing year by year, the
demand for flats are still high and there are no abandoned
high-rise dwellings nor complete deserted housing areas.

44 45
C ON C LUS I O N Differences in ownership and their aftermath

Mainly due to the differences in political The solutions introduced in Western Europe could have been
aims that created the panel blocks in the more easily achieved or to be experimented for the majority
second half of the 20th century, the of the properties are still owned by the Government, since
composition of social classes - and so the they were meant to be social housing.
reputation and real-estate value of the
large estate areas - are quite unlike After construction, apartments could be obtained through
regarding the occidental social housing various channels in the housing estates. Some belonged to the
and the Hungarian panel colonies. local councils and were allocated by them based on a set of
criteria, almost without any expenses. More costly were the
Thus it should be enhanced that units in buildings constructed by the National Savings Bank
complete adoption of Western models (OTP) or a housing cooperative. As these were condominiums
would not be correct as the political and or cooperatives, after an initial down payment a long-term
social contexts at the time of construction loan had to be repaid. Finally, there were apartments that
were and still are fairly different. belonged to various state organisations – like the army or the
police – and were assigned by them. Thus the social
The experiences of solution methods composition of an estate could differ greatly depending on the
worked out for “die Plattenbau” in ratio of council and state organisation owned apartments and
Eastern-Germany or for “les HLM” in condominiums. Better housing estates usually had a high
France are of course sought to be share of condominiums.
considered but before importing them, a
careful analysis and comparison over the The political changes in 1989 in Eastern Europe created a
actual situation and the future impact of completely different ownership, which now hinders or slows
such solutions must be studied. down any of the introduced programs.

On the other hand, it is to be considered “As a result of a rushed large-scale privatisation of the
as well that these buildings used to housing sector, private ownership rates of CEE countries
represent dwellings once built at the (sometimes as high as 80-90%) are among the highest in
highest comfort rate and even nowadays Europe.
they can still be a good choice for less Due to the economic and social crisis, and further aggravated
wealthy but larger families who need a by the lack of governmental regulation, the necessary repair
middle-size but well separated flat. and maintenance work remained undone [or can only be
reached by a narrow range of occupants –author’s note].
As there were no clear cut responsibilities for management
The revitalisation is though inevitable, as
and maintenance set at the time of privatization, many areas
there are still a large number of the
of the residential environment (especially common spaces
population who simply cannot afford to
such as staircases, basement rooms, roofs, surrounding open
move from their current panel-block home
areas) are now deteriorating and no-one has the legal
or for young couples who cannot build
responsibility for repairing the damaged elements.” (d)
their first houses and for who the price of
a flat in a prefab building is still
affordable.

47
MANAGEMENT OF MULTI-APARTMENT BUILDINGS FINANCIAL SCHEMES

In Hungary, the rate of privatisation for flats in housing

estates are significantly high compared to similar dwelling Subsidies for rehabilitation of panel blocks (see in chapter
types all around Europe. 5.a) have started to appear in recent years, though leaving
the majority of the financing to the costs to the owners.
Most of the estate buildings were constructed by the state –
however cooperatives and condominiums already appeared in The financial status of the panel-blocks is mostly weak but
the 1970s – and these state owned units were transferred to generally not significantly weaker than other estate buildings
the local municipalities in 1990. The vast majority of them e.g. in the downtown. They could not accumulate reserves
were privatised to the sitting tenant with a huge discount. from the past as were sold to the owners without common
financial means and assets – e.g. the commercial spaces in
Current situation: the estates were basically kept in municipal ownership.

Ownership in Private Municipal Cooperatives Nonetheless, the financial burden of the rehabilitation is too
Large Housing Estates 94 % 4.8 % 1.2 % heavy for most of the owners. The only solution is to share the
costs among as many actors as possible. That is why the state
The management structure of the estate buildings is subsidy – that now provides one-third of the energy saving
diversified. Each building has the right to choose any kind of rehabilitation – may have some success.
property manager. The formal municipal buildings were
managed by the municipally owned property management Budapest is in a special case due to its two-tiered
companies in the beginning of the 1990s but after a while government system: it evolves 23 district municipalities and
most them switched to private managers. Nowadays the capital city. The capital city has a rehabilitation fund to
professional private property managers manage most of the support eh renovation of privatised buildings and cooperatives
condominiums – or the manager may be someone from the – mostly in the downtown area but also in some panel-block
owners – while the cooperative buildings are managed by the building. If combined with the grant received from the
cooperatives themselves. district’s municipality, estate buildings are able to receive up
to 60 % of the renovation costs in subsidies (but again it is
In Hungarian terms, these property managers are called meant for physical renovation).
“common-representatives” meaning that for each building
their duty mainly is to manage the public issues of the edifice
and to handle applications for governmental subsidies on the
behalf of the occupants.

The major disadvantage of this system can be revealed when

it slows down all procedures in rehabilitation: for the majority
of the inhabitants (few years ago 100%) have to agree upon
the actual proposition.
As another difficulty can be mentioned the negligence or
rather indifference of the tenants when speaking about acts
for the close environment of their homes. In several buildings
there is no well-defined common goal and the lack of will for
cooperation among the residents makes the situation even
worse.

48 49
V. SOLUTIONS AIMED AT PANEL Until the elections (mid-2002) 6256 flats received financial
REHABILITATION support, which equals a sum of 605.1million HUF / 2.3 million
EUR, for insulation works principally.

Existing governmental programs

2 0 0 3 .

1 9 9 5 . The National Dwelling Program, started in 2003, contains

In order to renovate the ‘prefab-colonies’ the Government more promising steps in connection with prefab building-
announced a program and for the sake of the fulfilment he renovations. The total amount of budget for 15 years is 1500-
also applied for German credits. This is an ongoing project, 2000 billion HUF / 5 681-7 568 million EUR, which is to be
still valid these days, though barely successful.
financed from state, municipal and inhabitants’ own sources.
The sources differ both on the amount the Government drew At the beginning, it was planned to renovate 60 thousand flats
from German credits (from 3 to 4 billion HUF /i.e. from 11.4 per year from 2006 on. The project renamed now is called:
up to 15.1 million EUR) and on its results: one says it was Panel Plus Program.
pointless as the flats were not creditworthy, the other
mentions that the first results can already be seen.
Citation from the official website of the National Office for
The aim, however, was to finance the renovation of as much Housing and Building (March 2006.):
as 5000 dwellings (1% of the total amount of buildings to
renew). It is not the State who loans the credit but he “ The Government lead by Gyurcsány has
assumes two thirds of the principal repayment rate and 10% supported the renovation of flats in prefab
of the interest burden is to be paid by the owners.
buildings with an amount of 16.4 billion HUF /
[Mainly social and economical reasons are lying behind that: 62.1 million EUR, which contributed to more
1. according to the previous law, 100% of the inhabitants’ than 87 thousand dwelling renovations and as
agreement was needed such to the amelioration of living
2. the average renovation costs per flat were around 1-1.5 circumstances for 250 thousand people. The
million HUF / 3.8-5.7 thousand EUR that the inhabitants
panel program started in 2001. has so far
with less income could not afford to pay.]
helped to modernize 400 thousand people’s
home. Our aim is that by the end of 2013.
2 0 0 1 . 80% of the overall large estate settlements in
In February 2001. the actual government in the frame of Hungary would be renewed.
‘Plan Széchenyi’ launched a support program “for the eco- The Panel Plus Program helps the
friendly modernization and renovation of estates built with communities to join the project. The credit
industrial technology”. The municipalities would compete for can be taken out for 20 years and without the
grants (non-refundable financial support from the state). The
inhabitants’ own resources so that the
state would take upon him one-third of the investment’s costs,
the rest to be paid by the municipality and by the community renovation could start the soonest possible.”
of the inhabitants.

50 51
Urban theories – proposals for a realizable solution _COMPOSITION OF SOCIAL CLASSES AND WALKS OF LIVES

ƒthe year of the construction determines the social

Besides the detailed analysis, the other goal of the present status of the initial inhabitants (and the presumable
study is to offer solution schemes that can be implemented on condition of the buildings as well)
the described prefab colonies.
ƒstudying the rate of unemployment, of age and
When working out these methods, our principals were:
degrees of education is a simple but efficient tool to
ƒrespecting the colonies as existing residential areas describe the actual image / social status of the colony
that shall be preserved; ƒthese two define the position of the value of dwellings
ƒkeep in view the special characteristics of Hungarian on the real estate market as well
panel-block buildings, especially when selecting or
applying occidental solution schemes; _PUBLIC FUNCTIONS
ƒto keep and enhance the existing advantages and to
try to improve the deficiencies. As mentioned earlier, thanks to the planning of the last
decades, the public buildings are generally well distributed in
The result can be described in three different categories, each the prefab colonies. Although this would not always
independent on its own but forming a coherent solution correspond with the current needs of the inhabitants. By
altogether. Depending on various aspects as financial sources, examining the aspects described in the chart, then compared
co-operation of the actual government or contribution of the with the amount of inhabitants, it can be declared if there is
inhabitants, different combinations of the three categories can enough public functions or perhaps too much.
be applied.
Not only their amount but also the architectural outlook or the
It is important to emphasize that each of the proposals is position of these public buildings should be reconsidered. (see
meant for the scale of one colony, not for one building nor the Solution strategies)
colonies in general of one city.
_PUBLIC SPACES AND AMOUNT OF GREENERY
SITE-SPECIFIC RESEARCH
One of the most important components forming the image of
see scheme Nr.I. a prefab colony is the outlook and use of its public spaces.
Generally speaking, these places possess of great potentials
The substance of this scheme is that before any solutions are but are usually neglected in maintenance or are used as
implemented on a prefab colony, a site-specific research parking. The renewal of the public spaces can change basically
should be elaborated. the fame of one colony and turn them into a habitable
residential area.
This could be done with the help of sociologists and urban
planners, who would examine the following components The second chart offers different levels of acting, depending
characterising each colony: the available financial sources and the actors (inhabitants,
municipality or the government).

52 53
scheme Nr. I.
$EFINING TASKS scheme Nr. II.
$EFINING TASKS

AC TING ON A BASIC LEVEL
AC TING ON A BASIC LEVEL
# ( ! 2 ! # 4 % 2 ) 3 4 ) # 3 4 / " % % 8 ! - ) . % $ !4 % ! # ( 3 ) 4 %
# ( ! 2 ! # 4 % 2 ) 3 4 ) # 3 4 / " % % 8 ! - ) . % $ !4 % ! # ( 3 ) 4 % STEPS THAT DO NOT
RS ET EQ PU SI R TEH BA IT G D O N O T USE OF
P FOCUS ON THE
IR NE VQEUSI TR M E EBNI GT S A N D UUS EB LOI CF
P LUABCLEI CS G
F OR CE UE SN EORNY T H E
!MOUNT CI NA VNE BS TEM AECNHTISE VA ENDD
#OMP OSITION OF 0 U B L I C GREENERY
0 U B L I C USE OF
!MOUNT
EC AV NEN B E AMCOHRI REOVW
T O ED PLACES
SO
#OCIAL CLASSES
MP OSITION OF F0U N EVEN TOMORROW
U CBT I LO N
I SC S0 PU ABC L EI SC ' REENER
WALKS OF LIVES
S O C IAL CLASSES USE OF Y
FUNCTIONS SPACES
WALKS OF LIVES ' REENER Y

IMPROVING PUBLIC BUILDINGS
IMPROVING PUBLIC BUILDINGS
ALONG WITH THEIR PUBLIC SPACES
A A ALONG WITH THEIR PUBLIC SPACES
! R E T H E R E S U F F I C I E NAT $A O
T H E Y F U N C T I O N A S
! RPE U TBHL EI CR E B SUUI LF DF II CNIGE SNT P$L OA CTEHSE YO FF UMNECETTI IONNG A S
F RE E U P S P A CE I N TO O CHANGE THEIR NEW PUBLIC
PUBLIC BUILDINGS PLACES OF MEETING D E NES UE P A RE
S PAASCE I N TO O O FNUENWC TPI OUNBSL I C
B B F RE C HUAT LNOGOEK TH E I R
DSEHNOSPES AI RE N A SP P RO P R I ATE TORA IFNUSNECRTTE I ODN SI N S I D E
! R E T H E Y D I S T R I B U T EBD 7 U TNL SOFO
O KR M I NTO
B H E R E A N D H O W C A N P SOHSOI TPI SO NI N A P P RO P R I ATE G RENESNFO
T RA RO
RMO FS
I NTO
TI NHSEE PR TE
REDF A IBN S I D E
! R E T H E Y DCI OS TR RR IEBCUT TL YE D W7EH EC RR EE A AT NE D
T HHEOM
W ICF A N POSITION G RE E N RO O FS
BT HUEI L D
P IRE
N GF ASB
CORRECTLY TWH EE YC RDEOANT ET T H E M I F BUILDINGS
C THEY DONT
7 H A T A R C H I T E C T U R ACL C
7 H A IT M
AAR GC HE I TDEOC TT UH REAYL (C O W L O C A L L I F E I S
T R A N S MI IMT A HG OE W D OC ATNH EI TY A(COHWI E LVOECDA LA TL I FEEA CI SH
T R A N S M I T B EH OAWL T EC RAEND IT SAPCOHTI E V E D A T E A C H
BE ALTERED SPOT BUILDING RENEWAL
BUILDING RENEWAL
B C C
#AN THE DENSIT Y OF B THE IMP OR TANCE OF THE C WHO ARE USING THE
C
THE AREA B T H E I M P O R T ATH FAC
N CE O F ADE PUBLIC SPACES BESIDE THE GOVERNMENTAL PROGRAMS
#AN TH E D E E REDU
NSITY OF THE W H O A RE U S I N G T H E
CED BY BUILDING TH FACADE IBME P
S IRDOEV ET HT EH EG OB VUEI LR DN IM
N EG NS T A L P R O G R A M S
THE ARE A B E RE D U P U B L I C S P A CE S
THEM ELSEWHERE C C IMPROVE THE BUILDINGS
CED BY B U I L D I N G
THEM E L S E W H E RE C AN WE EXPLOIT THEIR C )S IT ONLY A COMMUTER
C
B ARCHITEC
C A N WETURAL OUTLO
EX P L O I T T H OK
EIR TOWN
)S I T O N L Y A CO M M U TE R
%NHANCING THEIR B A RCTO CREATE A SP
H I TE C T U RA L O U TECIAL
LOOK TOW N
PUBLIC FUNC
%NHA N C I NTION BY
G THEIR IMAGE FOR THE AREA
TO C RE ATE A S P E C I A L C
CREATING PUBLIC
PUBLIC F U N C T I O N BY I M A G E FO R T H E A RE A )S THERE A P
C OSSIBILIT Y TO
SPACES AROUND
CREAT ING PUBLIC C CREATE FROM EACH
)S T H E RE A P O S S I B I L I T Y TO
SP A CE S A RO THEM
UND P OSSIBILIT Y TO USE C COLONY A PROP
C RE ATE F RO M E AER TOWN
CH REGAIN THE STATUS OF THE COLONIES AS ONCE THEY USED TO BEHOLD
THEM SOME FLATS TO INSER
P O S S I B I L I T Y TO U S T
E CENTRE
CO L O NY A P RO P E R TOW N REGAIN THE STATUS OF THE COLONIES AS ONCE THEY USED TO BEHOLD
S OPUBLIC FUNC
M E F L AT S TO TIONS
INSERT CE NT RE
54 PUBLIC FUNCTIONS 55
COLONY TOW N H S H I P
4HE SIZE OF A PREFAB COLONY
USUALLY EQUALS THE NUMBER scheme Nr. III.
OF INHABITANTS OF A WHOLE THEORY OF PREFAB TOWNSHIPS
VILLAGE
see scheme [Link].

One of the worries of sociologists is that by leaving the prefab

colonies to continue on the decreasing tendency of building
quality and social fame, would lead to similar situations in a
decade as that can be perceived in the Western countries.
$ I S TRIC T IN A $ I S T RI C T
After our researches it became clear that the best prevention
)S IT POSSIBLE TO TURN THEM of such situations is to improve the image transmitted towards
INTO QUASI AUTONOMIC TOWN
the real estate market or simply to a visitor. This image
SHIPS
consists of several components that can be renewed or
7HAT MAKES SUCH A COLONY changed (see scheme [Link].) but its success largely depends
TO LIVE ON ITS OWN on the leading organisation who carries out such renewals.

7HAT ARE THE TOOLS TO EN In the upcoming period of municipal elections it is expected

COURAGE SUCH A PROCESS that the existing two-tired governmental system of Budapest
will be suppressed in favour of one central municipality of the
#ENTRALIZED capital. In this case or even in the existing district-divided
Budapest, it would be advisable to determine parts of the city
" UILDING 3 O C I A L into areas that are coherent both architecturally and in terms
#OMMU N I T I E S of its inhabitants – rather than according to districts that are
$ ECENTRALIZED heritage of the previous century. The idea of authorities
PREVENTION AUTONOMIC TOWNSHIPS governing a certain quartier seems more adequate to the
OF GHETTOS present situation.
The only chance for breakout in the struggle for ‘panel-
#OHERENCE IN ARCHI rehabilitation’ is to treat each prefab colony as autonomic
T E C T U R E V A R I E T Y I N township and to provide them with a leadership.
SOCIAL CLASSES If each prefab township possesses of an authority, there is a
lot more chance for creating a special architectural image of
$ISTRICTS DETERMINED
BY DIFFERENT ZONES OF the colony that may result in the increasing value of the
HOUSING TYPES dwellings in the real estate market. At the end, the bad
reputation of certain panel-blocks can be restored.

Nonetheless, generating a so-called competition among the

.EW DE F I N I T I O N O F colonies for a better image cannot only be task of the
TOWNSHI P S authorities. As some foreign examples prove, handing the
ACCORDING TO leadership to private organisations produce similar results,
maybe even more effective. Although knowing the allures of
.UMB ER OF INHABITANTS the authorities as well as of the private owners in Hungary,
this system still needs a lot of careful preparation before
$ IFFERENT SP ECIFIC implemented…
ARCHITEC TURAL IMAGE
FOR EACH COLONY

/RGANIZATION OF LO C AL
AUTHOR ITIES
56 57
SOLUTION STRATEGIES _URBAN SOLUTIONS

S
_D L U T I O N S TS
O IVISION OF RUBSIDIES
ATEGIES With smaller or bigger transformations of the existing urban
structure of the prefab colonies, it is easy to gain a pleasant
_DIVISION OF
The need for SUBSIDIES
rehabilitation in panel-block buildings is residential area as the potentials are given.
somewhat acknowledged nowadays, even governmental
The needhas
subsidies foremerged
rehabilitation in panel-block
to resolve the problembuildings
during theis Our tools vary from renewal to abolishment of buildings and to
somewhat acknowledged
previous years. nowadays, even governmental change of functions, but always keeping in mind that it was
subsidies
It would behas emerged
though to resolve
important the problem
to emphasize that the during the
physical followed by a careful site-analysis (see sub-chapter: Site-
previous years.
condition of a panel-block building has very little in common specific Research). Each of the given solutions is an answer
It would
with the be thoughand
situation important
treatmentto emphasize thatspaces
of the public the physical
of the for a lack or mal-functioning of an urban component.
condition of a panel-block building has very little
whole prefab colony. It is thus substantial to divide, in or
common
rather These are:
with the situation
to separate a newand treatment
category of the rehabilitation
for urban public spaces among
of the
whole prefab colony.
governmental It is thus substantial to divide, or rather
subsidies. ƒ PARKING PLACES: on the surface they occupy too much
to separate a new category for urban rehabilitation among space and most of the time their number is still not
governmental subsidies.
S U B S I D I E S
enough. The construction of underground parking
places would be too costly, we propose to leave them
on their current level but construct an artificial
landscape above them, which would hide the cars and
PHYSICAL RENOVATION RENEWAL OF PUBLIC offer a green area for recreation at the same time.
OF PANEL BLOCKS SPACES
ƒ COMMERCIAL ESTATES are in most of the cases not well
inserted in the urban environment of the prefab
colonies. Either they are occupying too much space
that could be used for recreation or their architectural
outlook is deteriorating the image of the surrounding.
There are various possibilities to place them elsewhere
(underground, to the basement floor of the estates) or
simply leave them on their current position but connect
public space: public space: it with the semi-underground parking mentioned above
greenery and parkings basement floor and cover it with greenery.
and roof terrace

to the attention of responsibility of ƒ PUBLIC FUNCTIONS: the more valuable functions such as
the authorities the occupants
Not only politicians but private owners as well are not aware libraries, health care centres, etc. and the new ones
of the importance of the second category and by defining a such as gyms are worth to be placed in the estates
Not
new only politicians
available butwould
subsidy private owners
help as well are
to regenerate not aware
public space themselves, in some of the cases by transforming
of the importance
(inside or outside of thetheblocks).
second Itcategory
is true and by that
albeit defining
for a
new available
general subsidytransformation,
and unified would help to regenerate
there is a public
need space
for a dwellings for public disposal or to be placed on the
(inside or outside for
central leadership theeach
blocks). It (see
colony. is true albeit thatTheory
sub-chapter: for a unused roofs of the buildings.
general
of Prefaband unified transformation, there is a need for a
Townships)
central leadership for each colony. (see sub-chapter: Theory
of Prefab Townships)

58 59
CCONCLUSION
ONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
One highly important conclusion of the researcher Tamás
Egedy was that
One highly the rehabilitation
important conclusionandof revitalization
the researcher of the
Tamás
prefab buildings are significantly less expensive as their
Egedy was that the rehabilitation and revitalization of the
destruction of whatever purpose and the creation of
prefab buildings are significantly less expensive as their
new dwelling districts.
destruction of whatever Withpurpose
minimal investment, important
and the creation of
results can be achieved in the amelioration of the
new dwelling districts. With minimal investment, important living
conditions.
results can be achieved in the amelioration of the living
Other than the physical state of the technical elements: the
conditions.
whole heating
Other than the or physical
electricalstate
system, the technical
of the way the public utilities
elements: the
work should be reconsidered as options for a more
whole heating or electrical system, the way the public utilitieseco-
friendly and also
work should becost-friendly
reconsideredway.
as options for a more eco-
friendly and also cost-friendly way.
It is essential to declare that the issues around the prefab
buildings raise atomuch
It is essential more
declare thatcomplex
the issuesproblem
around than the
the prefab
direct physical condition of these edifices, various
buildings raise a much more complex problem than the other
aspects such as condition
direct physical architecture,
of territorial development
these edifices, and
various other
especially sociology are needed to be examined.
aspects such as architecture, territorial development and
especially sociology are needed to be examined.
Based on these statements, the elaborated method leaves the
responsibility
Based on these in statements,
the Government’s hands method
the elaborated but proposes a
leaves the
different approach from the existing governmental programs,
responsibility in the Government’s hands but proposes a
namely
differenttoapproach
separate the
from thesubsidies into two different
existing governmental programs,
groups:
namely to separate the subsidies into two different
groups:
1. physical maintenance and renovation of private homes in
1. panel-block buildings; and renovation of private homes in
physical maintenance
panel-block buildings;
2. a program worked out in collaboration with urban
2. planners,
a program sociologists,
worked architects and landscapewith
out in collaboration designers
urban
aimed to renew and to enhance the public components
planners, sociologists, architects and landscape designers
ofaimed
a prefab colony,and
to renew by:to enhance the public components
one of the potenctials: unused roofs
of a prefab colony, by:
ƒdeclaring “prefab-townships” each comprising a
bigger
ƒ colony,
declaring “prefab-townships” each comprising a
ƒnew forming of “interior” and exterior public spaces,
bigger colony,
ƒencouragement
ƒnew forming of of local communities.
“interior” and exterior public spaces,
ƒencouragement of local communities.
Thus at the end the program gradually transforms the existing
bad-reputation
Thus at the endof the
these colonies
program into a real
gradually urban and
transforms theliveable
existing
place, and will be
bad-reputation able tocolonies
of these preventinto
further
a realsocial
urbansegregation.
and liveable
place, and will be able to prevent further social segregation.

60
RELATED WORKS International Architectural Workshop 2005.
Public Spaces in the panel colony of Obuda

_URBAN SOLUTIONS

With smaller or bigger transformations of the existing urban

structure of the prefab colonies, it is easy to gain a pleasant
residential area as the potentials are given.

Our tools vary from renewal to abolishment of buildings and to

change of functions, but always keeping in mind that it was
followed by a careful site-analysis (see sub-chapter: Site-
specific Research). Each of the given solutions is an answer
for a lack or mal-functioning of an urban component.
These are:

ƒ PARKING PLACES: on the surface they occupy too much

space and most of the time their number is still not
enough. The construction of underground parking
places would be too costly, we propose to leave them
on their current level but construct an artificial
landscape above them, which would hide the cars and
offer a green area for recreation at the same time.

ƒ COMMERCIAL ESTATES are in most of the cases not well

inserted in the urban environment of the prefab
colonies. Either they are occupying too much space
that could be used for recreation or their architectural
outlook is deteriorating the image of the surrounding.
There are various possibilities to place them elsewhere
(underground, to the basement floor of the estates) or
simply leave them on their current position but connect
it with the semi-underground parking mentioned above
and cover it with greenery.

ƒ PUBLIC FUNCTIONS: the more valuable functions such as

libraries, health care centres, etc. and the new ones
such as gyms are worth to be placed in the estates
themselves, in some of the cases by transforming
dwellings for public disposal or to be placed on the
unused roofs of the buildings.
B I B LI O GRA PH Y

ƒ Egedy Tamás: Városrehabilitáció / “City rehabilitation”

[Magyar Tudományos Akadémia / Hungarian Academy of
Sciences - 2005]

ƒ RESTATE (Restructuring Large Housing Estates in European

Cities): Good Practices and New Visions for Sustainable
Neighbourhoods and Cities –
[publications on the results of a programme organised within
the Fifth Framework Programme of the EU:
[Link] - 2005]

ƒ Gábor Péter: Rational and Executable Programme to resolve

the complex problems of estates built with industrial
technology in Hungary
[diploma work - 2004]

ƒ Csizmady Adrienn: A Lakótelep / “The Panel Colony”

[Doctoral Dissertation – Gondolat publisher - 2003]

ƒ Braubach, M. and Bonnefoy, X. : Housing conditions and self-

reported health status – A study in panel block buildings in
three cities of Eastern Europe
[made for the LARES project at the WHO, Regional Office for
Europe – 2003]

ƒ Large Housing Estates in Hungary – 2002

ƒ Preisich Gábor: Budapest Városépítésének története 1945-

1990 Tanulmányok / “History of Townplanning in Budapest
between 1945-1990”
[MĦszaki Könyvkiadó - 1998]

ƒ Paneles Lakóépületek Típusterv Katalógusa / “Standard Design

Plans for Prefab Panel Buildings”
[Építésügyi és Városfejlesztési Minisztérium / “Ministry for
Building and Urban Development” – 1976]

DIPLOMA PROJECT BY SÁNDOR IMRE

64 PAINTER, PÉCS
65