Master of Architecture Dissertation by Dan Liu

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REHABILITATING POST-SOCIALIST DERELICTION: THE ROLE OF CREATIVE ECONOMY IN TRANSFORMING MODERN BUDAPEST A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE DEGREE OF M.ARCH 2014 BY DAN LIU WELSH SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE ! !

A B S T R AC T

This study investigates the concept of creative economy as an agent in revitalising architectural dereliction and obsolete urban voids in Budapest. As a post-socialist Central European capital, Budapest is also endowed with rich Austro-Hungarian architectural heritage and diverse history. Its transition from socialism to a free market economy is paralleled by social and cultural restructuring, and these changes are revealed through the lens of architectural observation. An in depth analysis creativity-led urban renewal is achieved by examining four selected case studies. The examples are not all-inclusive, but they rather intend to bear representative capacity, as they magnify the interfering socio-economic factors that have been shaping Budapest since the regime change in 1990. As cities are simultaneously designed by planners from above and users from below, the analysis employs two opposite approaches. One perspective focuses on the strategic moves implemented by the authorities and oﬀers understanding of the intentions behind the interventions. The other approach looks at the endeavours of the inhabitants of the city and discovers how the inventions of individuals expand into larger movements, eventually reshaping the cityscape of Budapest. These investigations identify how talent and creativity have been mobilised to improve urban quality and by doing so it sheds light on its potentials and limitations in rehabilitating a post-socialist city.

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REHABILITATING POST-SOCIALIST DERELICTION: THE ROLE OF CREATIVE ECONOMY IN   TRANSFORMING MODERN BUDAPEST

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Dan Liu A dissertation submitted in partial fulﬁlment of the degree of M.Arch 2014   Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiﬀ University

AC K N O W L E D G E M E N T

I would like to thank my tutor Oriel Prizeman for her generous encouragement and guidance. I am also grateful to Bence Turányi and Marcell Pátkai for their time and assistance. Furthermore, I would like to show my gratitude to Atelier Pro Arts Gallery, Viktor Takács (Chief Architect of District XI), Balázs Szűcs (Chief Architect of District IX) and Hajnalka Kalászi (Chief Architect of District V) for providing valuable professional insight.

T A B L E O F CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

A C K N OWL E D G E M E N T

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

L I S T O F I L LU S T R AT I O N S

INTRODUCTION

Statement of Aim

Structure of Dissertation

Methodology

L I T E R AT U R E R EV I EW

PA RT I : I N T E RV E N T I O N

Filling Up of ‘National Pit’

Theatricality Against Marginalization

PA RT I I : I N V E N T I O N

Migrating Revelry Within Ruins

Modern Nomadic Artists

C O N C LU S I O N

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

All illustrations belong to the author with the exception of the following: Fig. 1: Key locations in Budapest Based on the image in Urban Development Concept: Summary (Budapest: Municipality of Budapest, Mayor's Oﬃce, Bureau of the Chief Architect, 2003)

Fig. 2: Pier in Tallinn by Kavakava Fabián Cifuentes, ‘The Pier / Kavakava Architects’, ArchDaily (06 April 2013) <http://www.archdaily.com/?p=349429> [Accessed 17 January 2014.]

Fig. 3: Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold lacquer Unknown author, ‘landscapearchitecture.tumblr.com’, Pinterest <http://www.pinterest.com/source/landscapearchitecture.tumblr.com/> [accessed 17 January 2014]

Fig. 4: Map of Elisabeth Square from 1908 Attila Déry, Inner City - Leopold Town: District V. (Budapest: Terc, 2005), p. 80

Fig. 5: Aerial view of the current Elisabeth Square Google Maps <https://maps.google.com> [accessed 21 December 2013]

Fig. 6: Car park in Elisabeth Square in 1996 Ilona Kiss, Budapest 1990-2010: 20 Years of a Free City (Budapest: Municipality of Budapest, Mayor's Oﬃce, 2010), p. 175

Fig. 7: Disrupted foundation works (1998) Ilona Kiss, Budapest 1990-2010: 20 Years of a Free City (Budapest: Municipality of Budapest, Mayor's Oﬃce, 2010), p. 223

Fig. 10: Reﬂection pool above the subterranean performance space Unknown Author, ‘Akvárium néven működik tovább a Gödör Klub eddigi otthona’, Twice.hu <http:// twice.hu/hirek/akvarium-neven-mukodik-tovabb-a-godor-klub-eddigi-otthona> [accessed 16 December 2013]

Fig. 11: Map of District IX from 1896 (by József Homolka) Integrated Strategy for Urban Development for District IX, Budapest, Volume I (Budapest: Municipality of District IX of Budapest, Ferencváros: Bureau Of The Chief Architect, 2009), p. 15

Fig. 12: Bank of Danube in southern Budapest around 1970 Unknown Author, ‘1970’s Boráros Square’, Ilyen is volt Budapest <http://www.ilyenisvoltbudapest.hu/ ilyen-is-volt/kilencedik-kerulet-ferencvaros/item/boraros-ter-1970-1975-9-kerulet-2?category_id=9> [accessed 28 December 2013]

Fig. 13: Bird’s eye view of the original master plan Courtesy of the Municipality of District IX.

Fig. 14: Millennium City Centre with inner Budapest behind Courtesy of the Municipality of District IX.

Fig. 19: Inner city street corner around 1960 Unknown Author, ‘1960s, Köztársaság Square’, Ilyen is volt Budapest <http://www.ilyenisvoltbudapest.hu/ilyen-is-volt/nyolcadik-kerulet-jozsefvaros/item/eszperanto?category_id=8> [accessed 13 November 2013]

Fig. 20: Unattended downtown blocks from 1950 Unknown Author, ‘1950, Fiumei Street’, Ilyen is volt Budapest <http://www.ilyenisvoltbudapest.hu/ilyenis-volt/nyolcadik-kerulet-jozsefvaros/item/1950-ﬁumei-ut?category_id=8> [accessed 13 November 2013]

Fig. 22: The internal courtyard of Szimpla Clare Foran, ‘What will happen to Budapest’s ‘Ruin Pubs’ once all the ruin is removed?’, The Atlantic Cities (4 February 2013) <http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2013/02/what-will-happen-budapests-ruin-pubs-if-all-ruin-removed/4579/> [accessed 3 November 2013]

Fig. 24: Anker’t, a ‘minimalist ruin pub’ Unknown Author, ‘Gombold újra! Central Europe’, Designterminal <http://www.designterminal.hu/ gomboldujra/en/programok.html> [accessed 27 December 2013]

Fig. 25: Anker’t, a ‘minimalist ruin pub’ Katalin Tóth, ‘Architectural and Graphic Image of Anker’t’, HG.HU - Design Meets Life (14 September 2012) <http://hg.hu/cikkek/design/14742-az-ankert-graﬁkai-es-epiteszeti-arculata> [accessed 27 December 2013]

Fig. 1: Key locations in Budapest 1: Elisabeth Square, 2: National Theatre, 3: Szimpla Garden, 4: Partizรกn Gallery

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INTRODUCTION

THIS dissertation stems from a deep interest in the transformation of indeterminate architectural and urban voids in Budapest within the scope of the last two decades reﬂecting a transition from socialism to free market economy. Even though the changes are observed from the perspective of architectural interventions, this paper also touches upon emotional and cultural factors that contribute to the recent metamorphoses. Budapest is a synthesis of post-socialist reality and extensive Austro-Hungarian architectural heritage. By reintegrating with the globalised world it also shares a common quest in seeking regional identity against the unifying effects of consumerism. Closely related to the discussions involving urban rehabilitation, the concept of a creativity based economy comes into focus. Culture, talent and art become tools in remedying post-industrial and post-socialist dereliction. As a product of critical selection, a few representative case studies have been chosen in Budapest. By their in depth study the major underlying socio-economic and political forces are identiﬁed and discussed. The relationship between the changes in cityscape and the way people use the city have been examined to highlight the duality that a city is simultaneously de-

signed by planners from above and citizens as users, from below. This form of exploration could be paralleled to an act of excavation as it moves from present to the past. It embraces the notion that excavation could be regarded as a reversed process of design, serving as foundation for future trajectories of progress.

INTRODUCTION

Statement of Aim This dissertation explores the potentials of a creativity, talent and culture based economy and their impact on the post-socialist or post-industrial urban voids in Budapest. By carefully selecting and classifying case studies in Budapest, the key historical, cultural and socio-economic factors generating the transformation of each urban space are identified. The discussions firstly shed light on how post-socialist authority employs creativity in the major interventions and shows how urban changes influence the life of urban inhabitants. Secondly, the capacity of ‘bottom-up’ movements are evaluated by understanding the potential of individual creative endeavours expanding into larger tendencies, and how they can ultimately change the image of the city. The synthesis of the discoveries reveals the nature and limitations of creative-led rehabilitation in a post-socialist urban and social context.

! Structure of Dissertation The dissertation begins with a review of the existing literature on the matter of urban regeneration, with special focus on the role of creative economy and talent played in the development of cities. This section gives a broad understanding about the specific circumstances of Budapest opposed to the Western world. Apart from socio-economic factors, artistic and emotional components of rehabilitation have also been considered. Following the Literature Review, the paper is divided into two antithetical parts: Intervention and Invention. The evolution of urban spaces in Budapest is classified into these two subsets according to the underlying social factors. Intervention describes top down strategic moves initiated by the state or local municipalities, and analyses how the idea of utilising creative economy and ‘high culture’ has been exploited by the authorities. It also discusses the intentions behind these public developments, touching upon themes such as post-industrial regeneration, neighbourhood revitalisation, diversity and national liberalism. The case studies offer insight to the grand economic and political forces that determine the fate of a city. While the projects examined in Intervention have larger physical and economic scale, Invention observes urban changes of human scale. The case studies observed are results of the endeavour of the users of the city. It gets into contact with the living sphere of individual inhabitants, entrepreneurs and artists, as it analyses the effects of the transition to post-socialist market economy on the manifestation of creative outputs as well as on the transformation of cityscape. It deals with concepts such as subculture, individualism, reinvention of identity, nostalgia, memory and coping with transience.

INTRODUCTION

Methodology The study draws upon a wide reading of urban theories summarising the aspects of the impact of creative economy on contemporary cities. Using existing theories as a departure, the majority of insight is derived from the individual case studies in Budapest. Despite the diversity of selected case studies in their scale and characteristics, they all share the common feature of being either controversial in their process or outcome (sometimes involving political scandal in background) or have recognisable impact on the life of the city. Whether it is a grass-roots movement or a national grand project, they are all deeply rooted in the manifold history of Budapest and embrace a future of uncertainty. They also concern multiple strata and segments of society. The relevant data is obtained from existing literature, official publications, newspaper articles and interviews, completed by the author’s individual observations, subjective perceptions and photographs. The two main parts have some differences in data collection method. For Intervention, information is primarily gathered by accessing official sources and consulting authorities. For Invention the approach requires a more personal approach, with utilising more up-todate but less ‘official’ resources, as existing literature on the subjects is very scarce.

LITERATURE REVIEW

THE discussions involving creativity-led post-socialist rehabilitation ﬁrst necessitates outlining the two main themes on which it is based. One is the phenomenon of creative economy, which is not only relevant to the post-socialist cities but also concerns the rest of the Western Capitalist world, as both realms experience a transition from the industrial to a post-industrial paradigm. Creativity and cultural revival is also interwoven with the idea of reuse and rehabilitation in this dissertation. In the second part, the inherent values in the act of salvaging and repair are reviewed. As a means to connect art with economy, it allows us to understand the importance of historical layers in the life of the city.

RISE OF A NEW ECONOMY As a part of understanding creative economy it is important to identify where it comes from, who it is related to and how it inﬂuences urbanism. Innovation has always been present as one of the most prominent factors propelling the progress of history. It is not the existence of creativity that is unprecedented, but the role it plays in the modern economy and how the attitude towards it has fundamentally changed in the last few decades. During the Socialist era, a rigid socio-political framework was set by a highly regulative bureaucracy designated to keep production, movement and also ideas in control; therefore, individual eﬀorts were less necessary in terms of economic contribution. With the introduction of

LITERATURE REVIEW

a competitive free market environment, even before regime change, creativity has been increasingly valued.1 The socio-cultural aspects of post-socialism are examined by Zoltán Kovács2 and

György Enyedi3 most in depth. Following the regime change in 1989-90, the centrally planned

economies of state socialism disintegrated into smaller, more ﬂexible units. With a boom in service sector, such as tourism, ﬁnancial and business services, the importance of so-called ‘soft location factors’ emerged, which regarded culture, creativity and innovation as key components.4

While in case of Hungary creative freedom is linked to the emergence of Capitalism and the liberation from the Soviet Union, there has also been a paradigm shift in the non-Socialist countries. Whilst the Soviet era was indeed dominated by mass industrialisation, in the West, it also had its counterpart. A large proportion of the population used to ﬁnd employment within the so called ‘Fordist’ type of manufacturing model. However, the contemporary consumerist lifestyle requires more than standardised commodities, and the growing impact of creativity has to do with the altered consumption culture and lifestyle. Richard Florida has extensively explored the phenomenon of creativity in the modern society. He invented the term ‘Creative Class’ and argues that creativity is not only a tool in the realm of market competition but it also penetrates everyday life: ‘Firms and organisations value it for the results that it can produce and individuals value it as a route to self expression and job satisfaction. Bottom line: As creativity becomes more valued, the Creative Class grows.’5 The

new economic model gives rise to a social strata or class that primarily engages with innovative activity. Creative Class is deﬁned as people whose economic function is to create new ideas, new technology and/or new content, and for whom every aspect and manifestation of creativity technological, cultural and economic - is interlinked and inseparable.6 Such an emerging strata

of creative professionals has been observed by other theorists, such as Daniel Bell7, John

Howkins8 and Peter Drucker,9 who named them ‘knowledge workers’.

After 1968 Hungary gradually moved away from the Stalinist model of redistributive economy and the rigid insistence on egalitarianism was replaced by a more liberalised, multi-sectored approach in its economy, which consisted of the state, co-operatives and private small-scale enterprises. This New Economic Mechanism, also referred to as ‘goulash communism’ offered a larger degree of freedom and personal opportunities. Zoltán Kovács, ‘Ghettoization or gentrification? Post-socialist scenarios for Budapest’ in Netherlands Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, Vol. 13, Issue 1 (1998) p. 67 2

Ibid.

György Enyedi, ’The Cultural Economy of the Cities’, in Földrajzi Értesítő 51, No. 1-2 (2002), pp 19-29

Sako Musterd, Marco Bontje, Caroline Chapain, Zoltán Kovács and Alan Murie, Accommodating Creative Knowledge: A Literature Review From A European Perspective (Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam, 2007) p. 2 5

Richard Florida, The Rise of The Creative Class (New York: Basic Books, 2002), p. 67

Ibid, p. 8

Daniel Bell, The Coming of Post-Industrial Society (New York: Basic Books, 1973)

John Howkins, Creative Economy (New York: The Penguin Press, 2001)

Peter Drucker, Post-Capitalist Society (New York: Harper Business, 1993) 15

LITERATURE REVIEW

The increased creative and cultural activity plays an important role in the transition from a post-industrial to a service-based city. The book Performing Arts: The Economic Dilemma written by Baumol and Bowen in 1966 could be regarded as the ﬁrst ‘classic’ work on cultural economy.10 Another expert in the issue of creativity related to urbanism is Charles Landry, regarding

innovation as one of the main resources of a city. Creative economy has an even greater signiﬁcance today, as it is exclaimed by Nesta’s publication A Manifesto for the Creative Economy.11

One sphere of cultural economy is the traditionally conceived cultural industry, such as education, ﬁne art or tourism). The other component is the production of cultural commodities. Those creations have greater symbolic and emotional value than practicality. This phenomenon is not new, as fashionable items have always been produced, however, it has been growing significantly within the economy of the contemporary cities. According to Enyedi, cultural economy can furthermore increase the competitiveness of the city by attracting either highly skilled and talented people (enriching the Creative Class) or more developed industries.12

Regarding the effect of cultural capacities on urban gentrification, there have been divided views. While some scholars, such as Roberts and Sykes regard gentrification more as a matter of economic and physical matter and that it relates to financial and technical solutions,13 others see

it as a product of the shift from an industrial to a post-industrial society, which entails the growth of an expanded middle class and their social relations, cultural tastes, and consumption practices.14 The relationship between cultural industry and gentriﬁcation has been extensively

studied by Neil Smith, Chris Hamnett and David Ley.

MERITS OF REPARATION As the impact of culture has been increasing in the development of the cities, the perception of culture and art itself has been changing simultaneously. Sharon Zukin offers an in depth analysis of art and artist-led gentrification, reflecting on the culture of the post-industrial cities. In the diverse contemporary society apart from the ‘high culture’ there is also legitimacy for subculture. As pointed out by Simpson: In a mass society, the artist may serve a totemic role, critical of the banalities of regulated life, raising the possibility of charismatic individuality, of iconoclastic self-affirmation in a marketplace deserted of gods.15

György Enyedi, ‘The Cultural Economy of the Cities’, in Földrajzi Értesítő 51, No. 1-2 (2002), p. 21

Nesta is the UK’s innovation foundation that provides investments that mobilise research, networks and skills. Hasan Bakhshi, Ian Hargreaves and Juan Mateos-Garcia, A Manifesto for the Creative Economy (London: Nesta Operating Company, 2013) 12

György Enyedi, ‘The Cultural Economy of the Cities’, in Földrajzi Értesítő 51, No. 1-2 (2002), pp 21-23

Roberts, Peter and Hugh Sykes, Urban Regeneration: A Handbook (London: SAGE Publications, 2000)

Chris Hamnett, ‘Gentrification, Postindustrialism and Industrial and Occupational Restructuring in Global Cities’ in A Companion To The City, ed. by Gary Bridge and Sophie Watson (Blackwell Publishers, 2003), p 333 15

Charles Simpson, SoHo: The Artist in the City (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981), p. 8 16

LITERATURE REVIEW

Also, to create the necessary creative milieu, the city needs to have local character, as some theorists regard ‘the impact of culture-led regeneration is clearly closely tied up to a localised sense of place.’16 The act of reuse is related to establishing authenticity, which is vital in diﬀeren

tiating one place from another in a world highly connected with telecommunication. As the Berkeley sociologist Manuel Castells has noted, ‘the power of identity has become a deﬁning feature of the insecure, constantly changing postmodern world.’17

The act of salvaging broken architectural fabric can greatly contribute to the regionalist character of the place, especially in reaction against the unifying mechanism of modernity.18 In

the example of the temporary project in Tallinn, Estonia called simply the Pier, the dysfunctional infrastructural facility is given a new layer of intervention. By covering the crumbling pier in timber boarding it could serve informal public uses, and it also enables a sense of tactile continuity with the past. The aim of the installation is to encourage temporary uses and bring out the beauty of the decaying place before its oﬃcial reuse.19

Fig. 2: Pier in Tallinn by Kavakava

Fig. 3: Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold lacquer

Another example showing the aesthetic values involved in the act of repairing is the Japanese practice of kintsukuroi, the art of mending broken pottery with gold lacquer to understand that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken.20 As the golden veins follow the

cracks, they ‘decorate’ the original object, also giving it a unique personality. In fact, the desire to seek qualities of such poetic purity propelled the research, however, unlike a singular object, such clarity of thinking in an urban situation is less straightforward and more multifaceted.

Miles, Steven and Ronan Paddison, ‘The Rise and Rise of Culture-led Urban Regeneration’ in Urban Studies Vol. 42, No. 5/6 (SAGE, 2005), p. 836 17

Manuel Castells, The Power of Identity: The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Volume I (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1997)

Liane Lefaivre and Alexander Tzonis, Architecture of Regionalism in the Age of Globalisation: Peaks and Valleys in the Flat World (Oxon: Routledge, 2012), p. 199

Fabián Cifuentes, ‘The Pier / Kavakava Architects’, ArchDaily (06 April 2013) <http://www.archdaily.com/? p=349429> [Accessed 17 January 2014] 20

Patricia Frick (ed.), The Aesthetics of Mended Japanese Ceramics (Münster, Museum für Lackkunst, 2008) 17

PART I: INTERVENTION

THE city of Budapest is a place conquered and reconquered throughout history. Since the ﬁrst days of the Roman settlers, the city has constantly been facing foreign invasions. Walking around the city today, there are tremendous traces left of the bygone ruling strata. As the soothing Turkish baths tell us about the luxurious lifestyle of the Ottoman governors, the grandiose Andrássy Avenue is a legacy to the passion for horse riding in the Austrian aristocracy. As Sharon Zukin puts it, ‘the look and feel of cities reﬂect decisions about what - and who - should be visible and what should not, on concepts of order and disorder, and on uses of aesthetic power.’21 The contribution of each dominant class demonstrates various aspirations and the marks

left by the authorities make up the plurality of the cityscape of Budapest. The legacy of Socialism - the last layer - is still visible, but it is gradually overlapped by a new paradigm of social and cultural life triggered by the regime change two decades ago. By participating in the global economy, Budapest is set for new uses and users. Reintegration with the world, consolidation of national identity and rediscovery of locality became the aspiration of a new generation who has diﬀerent upbringing and ideals. In order to shed light on the dominant class of the post-socialist city, we have to observe the urban interventions of free Budapest as they also point out how the city is addressing the issue of accommodating creative economy, culture and innovation.

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Sharon Zukin, The Cultures of Cities (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1995), p. 7

PART I: INTERVENTION

Filling Up of ‘National Pit’ IN the very heart of Budapest, the small yet vibrant public space adjacent to the evercrammed Deák Square transport junction is a prime example of how a static urban void can be upgraded into a public hub that revolutionises the revival of the inner city. During the Socialist era the area was used as a car park and coach station utilising its pivotal location as crossroad of both major surface and underground transportation arteries. Even though the space was dedicated to a valid function, it could be said that regarding its essential position, the place was used significantly under its potential. The journey from Socialist infrastructural establishment to the widely enjoyed urban attraction, however, is paved with a great deal of financial and political difficulties. The final product ended up completely different from the original proposals of the post-socialist government and the background story of the project gives some insight about the complex nature of contemporary urban development in Budapest. The area is located in Elisabeth Square in central city, and it historically marked a milestone in the northward expansion of the City of Pest.22 In the 18th century the area of the current

Elisabeth Square was just outside the city walls of Pest and it was occupied by a graveyard.23 In

the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy era the economy of Pest rapidly grew and by the end of the century the graveyard of Elisabeth Square became replaced by a peasant market selling animal goods. The growing density within the walls of the City of Pest has made its road system impossible to handle the crowd. Supported by a royal decree, a new urban plan was implemented to regulate the development north to the City. The new master plan prescribed multi storey buildings for the plots surrounding the new market square and these plots were swiftly purchased by wealthy entrepreneurs.24 The merchants and citizens within the walls of Pest were initially op

posed to the external developments; despite the growing discomfort, they were keen on preserving their commercial signiﬁcance. However, selling land around the new marketplace meant vital income for the municipality which at the time was lacking funding. The consequent urban expansion eventually lead to the formation of Leopold Town (Lipótváros), now a prestigious inner city civic quartier inheriting its original urban grain. During the 19th century the eastern part of Elisabeth Square became occupied by buildings, which left it a smaller urban space. It also meant that the Square became secluded from the Inner Boulevard. The issue of resultant problematic urban connections were addressed by various urban planners in the early 20th century who considered the removal of those building

The unification of the royal capital of Buda (western side of Danube) and the merchant town of Pest (eastern side of Danube) in 1873 resulted in Budapest. 23

The areas around the city walls used to be inhabited by immigrant workers of various ethnicity and religion. Every community, such as Turks, Jews or Protestants, had their own churches and graveyards. This explains the regular pattern by which various churches today (Jewish Synagogue, Calvinist Church at Kálvin Square) are dotted along the Inner Boulevard, which roughly follows the outline of the old city wall. 24

Attila Déry, Inner City - Leopold Town: District V. (Budapest: Terc, 2005), p. 79 19

PART I: INTERVENTION

blocks and to return to the previous, more generous square. Eventually the ongoing dilemma was resolved by WWII and the buildings were demolished in the 1960 due to the heavy damages they suﬀered during the wars.25 The area became an open space again, and during Socialism it "

was operated under state control as a coach station and car park.

Fig. 4: Map of Elisabeth Square from 1908

Fig. 5: Aerial view of Elisabeth Square

KAFKAESQUE PROGRESSION After the regime change in 1990, as a celebration of the regained national freedom, the obsolete endeavour of reconstructing the National Theatre came into focus again.26 There were "

several options for the site of the Theatre and Elisabeth Square became the optimal choice. The National Theatre, as a project funded by the State of Hungary, bore national importance and enjoyed priority in urban planning decisions. When the new theatre building was proposed in the eastern part of Elisabeth Square at the place of the car park, the opinion of the urban planning authorities on the effects of the new building on the urban context was treated secondarily. The government carried on with the design of the Theatre, without realising that the proposed figure-ground relationship had existed before and proven to be unsuccessful. Before the National Theatre could make any permanent mark on the cityscape, the construction came to a sudden halt at a fundamental stage. As a result of change of government in 1998, the project was suspended and amended, as the new administration had different plans with what they now considered as ‘their’ National Theatre. Eventually the new national landmark was moved to its current location by the Danube and what remained in the heart of the downtown was a gaping crater: a messy construction site with a huge rectangular concrete pit in the centre, which was intended to be the underground car park and foundation work. Suddenly the proposed architectural volume is replaced by an awkward urban void.

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Attila Déry, Inner City - Leopold Town: District V. (Budapest: Terc, 2005), p. 80

26 !

Since the beginning of the 19th century the National Theatre (both as building and institution) represented national liberty and identity. Against the dominance of Austrians and German language, the Theatre was a symbol of the legitimacy of Hungarian literature and culture in the 1820-30s. Since the demolition of the original National Theatre building in 1913, there was no permanent building of such function. Ilona Kiss, Budapest 1990-2010: 20 Years of a Free City (Budapest: Municipality of Budapest, Mayor's Office, 2010), p. 312 !20

PART I: INTERVENTION

The outcome of the political struggle, nevertheless, was that Elisabeth Square as a space was saved again. The abandoned National Theatre project became a subject of public ridicule and the sarcastic nickname of ‘National Pit’ got stuck to it forever. In an attempt not to hide this unorthodox past, but to rather celebrate it in an ironic way, the cultural centre that later occupied derelict construction site was given the name Gödör (which means pit in Hungarian). Thus Gödör became a symbol for lack of political cooperation and a reminder of administrational ineﬃciency. At the same time, Gödör was also a metaphor for triumph of creating something meaningful in a context of incompleteness and absurdity.27

To cover up the scar in the heart of the capital, a creative solution was sought and architects were invited to propose a design concept that accommodates a cultural centre and urban park taking over the existing topographical conditions. The purpose was to combine the Pit, the rest of Elisabeth Square and the nearby Deák Square into a homogenous urban entity. None of the received competition entries provided a resolved scheme, so the municipality carried on with a combined design that included a convention centre and a corresponding underground car park.28 The most prominent feature of the completed building is the subterranean exhibition

and performance space that is covered with a glass roof with a reﬂection pool above. As sunlight hits the main hall through the shallow body of water, the entire space is rendered in rippling refractions. During warm Hungarian summer evenings people casually sitting around the pool can rest their eyes on the water coloured by the lights of the concerts underneath. The underwater hall is accessible through a series of descending terraces and these steps give place to an alfresco cafeteria where people remain visually connected to the surrounding city, but cut oﬀ from the noise and hassle of the roads.

Fig. 6: Car park in Elisabeth Square in 1996

Fig. 7: Interrupted foundation works (1998)

Spatially, what makes National Pit work is that it contains an extensive cultural venue without a protruding architectural volume above the ground. However, it should not be forgotten that the spatial relationship could not exist if there was not the leftover pit that desperately

Ilona Kiss, Budapest 1990-2010: 20 Years of a Free City (Budapest: Municipality of Budapest, Mayor's Office, 2010), p. 318 28

Zsófia Mészáros, The ‘National Pit’ Is Being Filled Up, Index (11 August 2000) <http://index.hu/belfold/ ngodor> [accessed 16 December 2013] 21

PART I: INTERVENTION

Fig. 8: Diagrammatic Nolli section across Elisabeth Square (illustration by the author, not to scale)

needed to be filled. If it was not for this political battlefield and the clash of the newly formed ambitious post-socialist governments, Elisabeth Square perhaps would have a different use now. In fact, it is questionable whether the square would attract such a diverse array of visitors if solemn tragedies were performed in the same premise. Therefore, the evolution of Pit also exemplifies the non-linearity of urban development, and the potential hidden in failed attempts.

Fig. 9: Division of ownership in Elisabeth Square Grey: State of Hungary Yellow: Municipality of Budapest Red: Territory of District VI. White: Administered by District V. (Source: Municipality of District V., illustration by the author)

! The building finished in 2002, however, this was not the end of the story, but only a ‘temporary’ stage. Ten years later, as the central government realised the significant role that Pit (officially called Elisabeth Square Convention Centre) plays in Budapest, time has arrived for its expansion. Legally, the ownership of the plot remained with the State, but since the site is located in District V, any further development falls under the jurisdiction of the district municipality. The plans imposed by the State included an increase in commercial activities, more underground convention halls and more overground architectural volumes. These proposals were strongly opposed by the District V urban planners, who think the new scheme would reduce the area of green spaces causing excessive urban density. Inner city open spaces became a more vital issue now that people started to migrate into downtown. What makes the situation even more complex is that the ownership of Elisabeth Square is shared between the City of Budapest as well as 22

PART I: INTERVENTION

the State of Hungary. Similar scenarios of complexity have also been observed by Feldman, a scholar studying the waterfront regeneration in Tallinn: Western concepts used to explain urban revitalisation have limited applicability to the post-socialist cities, among others due to fragmented and unstable institutional context, ﬁscal and organisational weakness of city governments, the lack of partnerships and cooperation among stakeholders, and the continued pivotal role of the central state in urban planning.29

These observations all ﬁt the Pit, but the incessant disagreement between the State and the District is part of the torrential political climate that is not only a product of the post-socialist era. The evolution of Elisabeth Square has always been dictated by the struggles of varying polit ical visions and ﬁnancial interests ever since its birth in the eighteenth century.

Fig. 10: Reflection pool above the subterranean performance space

UNFORESEEABLE INHABITATION There is a mysterious fact about Pit that after its opening in 2002, the place was dead for a long time. A few years later, unpredictably, the cultural venue became an urban attractor and since then it has 150 thousand visitors annually, and it hosts six festivals.30 Pit grew beyond a

simple entertainment venue: it gave birth to an urban phenomenon. The place hosts a festive atmosphere throughout the whole summer and brings together a great mix of demography: not only cultural savvy visitors who came to enjoy contemporary dance performances but people with a glass of wine after work seeking relaxation. Even though the venue is owned by the government, it is not occupied by an oﬃcial institution. After the completion of the cultural venue, there was no prescribed brief regarding its operation. The place became widely accessible, and the popularity is a result of gradual realisa 29

Merje Feldman, ‘Urban Waterfront Regeneration and Local Governance in Tallinn’ in Europe-Asia Studies, Volume 52, Issue 5 (2000), pp 829-850 30

András Kiss, ‘The Pit and What Is Beside and Behind It’, Metropol (08 July 2011) <http://www.metropol.hu/ cikk/753268-a-godor-meg-ami-mellette-es-mogotte-van> [accessed 16 December 2013] 23

PART I: INTERVENTION

tion of the public of the freedom the place oﬀers. In fact, the majority of people use the surrounding spaces, the park and the benches by the pools and not the venue itself. As the signiﬁcance of Pit grew, it attracted further urban uses: it is used by skateboarders, markets and occasionally the square becomes an epicentre for public demonstrations. With time the place embraced programmes that address community issues concerning ethnic minorities, human rights and the homeless. It intends to be a ‘home’ for everyone in a shared city, as the Roma gypsies, homosexuals and immigrants are rarely concerned by the mainstream, now they are going to be the ones who these ‘alternative’ programmes are about.31

SUMMARY National Pit as an urban phenomenon is not a result of sober and purposeful design, but maybe that is to what it owes its success. The unforeseeable administrational chaos actually gave opportunity for the grass-roots endeavours to experiment during this ‘permanent transitional period’.32 It is exactly this integrated eco-system that allows all forms of creativity to take root

and ﬂourish. It reinforces the notion by Richard Florida that what creative people seek in places is ‘an openness to diversity of all kinds, and above all else the opportunity to validate their identities as creative people.’33

What is also demonstrated by the National Pit example is that in a post-socialist city it takes time for the public to understand urban freedom and truly to inhabit the city. As pointed out by the Chief Architect of District V, the nature of private-public social thresholds have shifted since the change of regime. While people used to travel to each other’s homes for social occasions, it is now more acceptable and preferred to meet in public venues. During Socialist times large scale outdoor gatherings were not typical (or may even be regarded with suspicion), but now the public has become quickly accustomed to the ‘Western’ liberated lifestyle. However, it might not be as swift for all the political stakeholders to fully grasp the concept of free and public-centred urban design after the long rigid decades of Socialism.

Ilona Kiss, Budapest 1990-2010: 20 Years of a Free City (Budapest: Municipality of Budapest, Mayor's Office, 2010), p. 319 32

András Kiss, ‘The Pit and What Is Beside and Behind It’, Metropol (08 July 2011) <http://www.metropol.hu/ cikk/753268-a-godor-meg-ami-mellette-es-mogotte-van> [accessed 16 December 2013] 33

Richard Florida, The Rise of The Creative Class (New York: Basic Books, 2002), p. 218 24

PART I: INTERVENTION

Theatricality Against Marginalization THE interrupted project of the National Theatre which could not be accomplished in the centre of the capital was eventually built in southern Budapest on the bank of the Danube. The area giving home to the National Theatre and some other cultural institutions this time is not a valuable inner city plot but a derelict brown-ﬁeld territory in the highly deprived District IX. The site is a kilometre long narrow strip stretching along the eastern side of the Danube. It was previously used as a heavy duty railway station, but industrial and military functions started to move out from the area starting from a century ago. The district has some valuable historical architectural fabric closer to the centre, but it is more the industrial heritage that dominates the characteristics of the area. During Socialism the living conditions in the district steadily declined, as the industrial activities gradually diminished. By the time of the regime change the prestige District IX became one of the lowest in the capital. The municipality of District IX formed after 1990 had to confront a whole array of diﬃculties without the necessary experience or resources.34 "

Fig. 11: Map of District IX from 1896

Fig. 12: Bank of Danube around 1970

Plans for rehabilitating this transitional zone ﬁrst appeared in 1981 when the Socialist Budapest came up with the idea of hosting a World Exhibition together with Vienna.35 Having the "

slogan ‘Bridges to Future’, the Expo 1996 aimed to reintegrate Hungary to Europe across the Iron Curtain. After the regime change in 1990, due to political disagreements and clashes of interests, the exhibition was eventually cancelled. Also, the ﬁnancial situation of the country could not aﬀord such public expenditure.36 This is when the ruins of a failed Socialist propa"

! 34

Integrated Strategy for Urban Development for District IX, Budapest, Volume I (Budapest: Municipality of District IX of Budapest, Ferencváros: Bureau Of The Chief Architect, 2009), p. 18 ! 35

The Expo aimed to emulate the success of the Millennium Exhibition held in 1896, which in line with the other great European cities like Paris of London, it managed to demonstrate the industrial progress and urban development of the Austro-Hungarian Budapest. Ilona Kiss, Budapest 1990-2010: 20 Years of a Free City (Budapest: Municipality of Budapest, Mayor's Office, 2010), p. 69

! 36

Ibid. pp. 70-75 !25

PART I: INTERVENTION

ganda project gave its place to the construction of the post-socialist symbol of national cultural unity, the National Theatre. The strategy for the rehabilitation of the transitional zones is to extend the tourism-intensive zones out of the historical core of Budapest and place them into the less economically competitive areas. It also provides incentive for the private sector to upgrade the large expanses of post-industrial land. District IX, as a territory with some cultural assets only close to the city centre (Corvinus University or Museum of Applied Arts) has to rely on its main natural asset, which is the Danube. The strongest connection to the inner city areas is best achieved along the bank of the river. These factors determined the strategic location of the new cultural institutions of national significance. The National Theatre, Palace of Art (a contemporary art museum and concert hall) and an unbuilt congress centre are positioned at the southern end of the riverside strip (furthest from the city centre), playing the role of a ‘magnet’ to attract private investors to ‘fill the gap’ in-between. The area is given the name Millennium City Centre and the development is based on a public private partnership scheme. The Municipality works in a close relationship with the investors, and agreements concerning the developments also include conditions pertaining to the adjacent public realm. This way the public spaces surrounding the residential and office blocks are also constructed, maintained and controlled by the developers.37

Fig. 13: Bird’s eye view of the original master plan

Fig. 14: Millennium City Centre with inner city behind

The urban development strategy in southern Budapest has clear similarities with the ‘Bilbao model’ and the new cultural institutions by the Danube are burdened with responsibilities and expectations far beyond their own function: Almost two decades earlier, the opening of the Beauborg museum in Paris marked the advent of museums that owe their identity less to permanent collections than to visceral impact. […] Ever since [it] opened in 1977 not only do museum buildings need to stand the test of adequate repositories of art, but they are also expected to act as catalytic agents of urban transformation.38

Integrated Strategy for Urban Development for District IX, Budapest, Volume I (Budapest: Municipality of District IX of Budapest: Bureau Of The Chief Architect, 2009), p. 171 38

Kurt W. Forster, Frank O. Gehry: Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa (London: Edition Axel Menges, 1998), p. 9 26

PART I: INTERVENTION

Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is also located in a marginal location, ‘scored by traﬃc and trade arteries, criss-crossed by major sight lines, but lacking in any clear manifestation of character.’39 While the Guggenheim provided Bilbao with a major tourist at

tractor, Millennium City Centre cannot compete with the historical assets of inner Budapest (unlike Guggenheim, no visitor travels to Budapest just to see the National Theatre). Therefore instead of relying on a large amount of visitors to generate income, its business plan specialises in so called ‘conference tourism’. Beneﬁting from the proximity of the Danube, the aspiration is to produce a delightful and highly prestigious civic quarter, and is mostly envisaged as catering for cultural and business visitors.

Fig. 15: Plan of Millennium City Centre: 1. National Theatre, 2. Palace of Art, 3. Congress Centre (unbuilt) (illustration by the author)

MULTIDIMENSIONAL DISCONNECTIONS On closer inspection of the sectional relationship of the Danube, the Millennium City Centre and the inner urban areas, it is clear that the river, which is meant to be a major factor in the environmental quality of the area is not actually easily accessible. In fact, there are multiple boundaries - real and implied - that cut oﬀ the urban territories from the river. The most prominent is the suburban railways that run parallel to Danube. This spacial disconnection has even been noted in the urban development publication of the Municipality it is noted that it is absurd that the Danube and its riverside walkway are physically fenced oﬀ from visitors of the cultural institutions and the users of the new establishments.40 By focusing on longitudinal connec

tivity and linkage to the city it also created a cross sectional boundary that isolates the rest of the district from the Danube.

Fig. 16: Diagrammatic section through the Millennium City Centre (illustration by author)

Kurt W. Forster, Frank O. Gehry: Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa (London: Edition Axel Menges, 1998), p. 9

Integrated Strategy for Urban Development for District IX, Budapest, Volume I (Budapest: Municipality of District IX of Budapest: Bureau Of The Chief Architect, 2009), p. 38 27

PART I: INTERVENTION

The solution for the spatial marginalisation reveals aspects of temporal disconnection within the urban planning. Access to the Danube can be reinstated by means of a future project involving a new underground line that would replace the current suburban railway running on the surface. However, in contrast to Bilbao, which constructed a whole array of infrastructural establishments as a part of its revitalisation plan, Budapest could not afford such dramatic improvement within a unified timeframe. The struggling financial capacity of the city mismatch the magnitude of the proposed interventions and the tedious pace of infrastructural constructions has resulted in a never-ending series of unfinished projects. Temporary solutions to create a better riverside environment, to bridge the current spatial deficiencies between the two phases of development, are abandoned. It has been deemed unnecessary to use public money to engage in a project that would only serve the city for a relatively short amount of time.

Fig. 17: The green strip leading to the National Theatre at some places becomes an unpleasant narrow passageway stuck between the residential buildings and the suburban railway.

Fig. 18: The opening up of the green strip into a public park in front of the Theatre

Without resolving the physical realm of the architectural interventions, it creates diﬃcult conditions for establishing emotional connections. As one of the most signiﬁcant contemporary public developments of Budapest, its visceral impact remains comparatively negligible. As stated by Charles Jencks, success of a postmodern intervention not only has to command ‘critical approval’ but also be enjoyed by the general public.41 Unlike Bilbao, the place hardly engages the

media, nor has it been embraced by the general public in a way that such a cataclysmic intervention would be expected to do. If we are to gauge the merit of an urban icon by its reflection in popular culture, then the reaction exerted by the recipient public is neither admiration nor revulsion but rather indifference, showing emotional disconnection. The National Theatre, as the centrepiece of the regeneration project, also bears the burden of accomplishing a century long mission to construct a collective identity and a symbol of regional separatism. As argued by Liane Lefaivre and Tzonis Alexander, in the newly disintegrated post-Cold War states the idea of a ‘nationalist style’ to express identity is still relevant, although it has diminishing significance against the true priority of the state, which is the economic revival.42 With its eclectic style emu

Charles Jencks, What is Postmodernism? (London: Academy Editions, 1984)

Liane Lefaivre and Alexander Tzonis, Architecture of Regionalism in the Age of Globalisation: Peaks and Valleys in the Flat World (Oxon: Routledge, 2012), p. 199 28

PART I: INTERVENTION

lating art nouveau and classicism, (which used to give natural identity to Hungarian architecture a century ago) the building carries a statement that is disconnected with the spirit of our era.

CATACLYSMIC MONEY The reason for the community and social disconnections between the new strip of development and the rest of District IX is not due to lack of intervention, but more deriving from the cataclysmic measure of investment and the resultant high status estates that does not correspond to the economic context of the area. As stated by Jane Jacobs: Cataclysmic money pours into an area in concentrated form, producing drastic changes. As an obverse of this behaviour, cataclysmic money sends relatively few trickles into localities not related to cataclysm. […] [T]hey behave like manifestation of malevolent climates beyond the control of man - aﬀording either searing droughts or torrential, eroding ﬂoods.43

The new urban developments along the Danube carry a mission of urban gentrification and cultural rehabilitation, but the resultant public and private synergy is limited to an ‘elitist’ approach. The programmatic contents of the new constructions attract creative capital in a way that it has to fit within a pre-conceptualised framework. Such scheme, however, entail the danger of being ‘over-designed’ and excessively restrictive in terms of use and diversity of activities. As interpreted by Neil Smith: Privatisation and and escalating investment have opened up a potential reservoir of new residences the continuation of gentrification is also dependent on the equally rapid emergence of a more differentiated class structure than existed prior to 1989, and in particular the expansion of a middle and upper middle class whose income make them the potential source of gentrifiers.44

A number of theorists have also argued that the globalised post-socialist cities are characterised by a new and distinctive class structure. According to John Friedmann and Goetz Wolﬀ: The primary social fact about world city formation is the polarisation of its social class divisions. Transnational elites are the dominant class in the world city and the city is arranged to suit their lifestyles and occupational necessities.45

In a social sense, Millennium City Centre is not a product of the urban reality of District IX, but an elitist arm reaching from the inner bourgeois Budapest to extend the frontier of commercialisation into a post-industrial territory. The radical nature of the urban intervention could be best described as an alien tissue that is not able to create an integrated eco-system with the rest of the urban organism. The problems of marginalisation have not been resolved, but rather spatially postponed, as on a whole the area still lacks the interwoven worlds of life and work that makes the place truly engaging. As put by Sarah Wigglesworth, who urges for an end to paternalistic approach when it comes to making meaningful places: 43

Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (London: Pimlico, 2000), p. 307

Neil Smith, The new urban frontier: gentrification and the revanchist city (London: Routledge, 1996), p. 177

John Friedmann and Goetz Wolff, ‘World city formation: an agenda for research and action’ in International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 6 (1982), p. 322 29

PART I: INTERVENTION

Clients, funds and the communities their work aﬀects must share responsibility for what results. We believe the architect must be part of this, giving shape to the collective vision. Development is more than simply making money out of property, which is single-agenda activity that all too frequently creates a monoculture. Change needs to emerge from and be owned by the communities already in existence; it must be ‘joined-up’ to the mechanisms of improvement if it is to be relevant, long lasting and responsible46

On the other hand, what Millennium City Centre achieves is that it relieves the inner city areas from the inﬂux of investors. Following Hungary’s full insertion into the global market Budapest, especially the valuable downtown has been the target of an escalating wave of redevelopment.47 It spreads the ﬂood of foreign capital in forms of investment in corporate headquar

ters and branch oﬃces to the transitional zones, decreasing the saturation of the downtown. By locating the high prestige estates out of the inner zone of the city, the elitist pioneering gestures might eventually permeate to the rest of the transitional zone.

! !

Sarah Wigglesworth, ‘Humility and Participation: Architect as Social Agent Provocateur’ in Regenerating Culture and Society: Architecture, Art and Urban Style within the Global Politics of City-Branding, ed. by Jonathan Harris and Richard J. Williams (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2011), p. 296

Neil Smith, The new urban frontier: gentrification and the revanchist city (London: Routledge, 1996), p. 175 30

PART II: INVENTION

AS observed by Charles Landry ‘the vitality of cities is often determined by unplanned, slightly chaotic developments triggered by intuitive and spontaneous activities.’48 Urban inter

ventions merely provide a physical shell, as every individual adds, subtracts and alters its components, as it becomes the ever changing backdrop of contemporary life. Against the ‘architecture of identity’ that carries the mission of deﬁning the character of city, there is also an ‘architecture of moment’ that responds to the varying implemented conditions. Triggered by the post-socialist economic restructuring, the society of a city such as Budapest consequently undergoes a process of paradigm shift. In a free market context creativity is paired with greater liberty, but not without a simultaneous struggle for ﬁnancial self-sustainability. This has become crucial for the survival of talent-based economy. The energy that keeps the city alive and activity happening, comes from inventive individuals and entrepreneurs who take the initiative to exploit the possibilities of the architectural fabric around themselves. Urban progress also emerges from within and below, manifested in subculture and grass roots endeavours. Creativity is not treated in its conventional sense - merely as artistic self-expression - but rather in terms of how individuals create meaning and identity within and beyond the physical realm they live in and how imagination is generated in reaction to the changing conditions of the city.

Charles Landry and Franco Bianchini, The Creative City (London: Demos, 1995), p.14.

PART II: INVENTION

Migrating Revelry Within Ruins WITH the economic recovery after the regime change in the 90s new constructions started to spring up throughout the city. The revitalisation of inner Budapest however, due to its extensive size and dilapidation, took decades to happen and it is still an ongoing process. Apart from the cataclysmic interventions, such as the public developments or high-tier private enterprises, there has been a grass roots force that slowly but steadily reshaped the image of the inner city districts. Such unexpected and vivid uprising was spearheaded by Budapest’s District VII. The area of District VII, or otherwise known as the Elizabeth Town, used to be a prestigious and vibrant area with its grandiose Austro-Hungarian Monarchy era architecture. It was famous for its elegant shops, cafes and buzzing restaurants which were frequently visited by poets and artists.49 However, its former glory fell rapidly during the second half of the 20th centu

ry, and it was gradually regarded as a deserted ghost town. The mournful history started during the Second World War when thousands of Jews were forced to move into the area for deportation. (This is how it also became the ‘Jewish Quartier’.) The standard of living fell rapidly and during the decades after the war the population of the district decreased as young or ‘higher status’ people moved to the newly built Socialist housing blocks in the outskirts of the city.50 De

scribed by Beynon, the area was ‘the home of the very poorest of our people. Dregs of humanity congregate there as the sediments of wine go to the bottom. It is the home of cut-throats and brigands, pickpockets and beggars.’51 Later the abandoned buildings were invaded by Romanian

immigrants which further harmed the reputation of the district.

Fig. 19: Inner city street corner around 1960

Fig. 20: Unattended downtown blocks from 1950

The names of the streets also reflect their past use. Dohány utca (meaning Tobacco Street, or as it was originally called: Tabakmacher Gasse) came from the tobacco makers’ shops; Dob utca (Drum Street) was named after a famous restaurant and pub called Three Drums.

After the 50’s the intellectuals and the upper class families either left on their own will or were deported to rural areas for political reasons. As an effect of Communist transformations, Budapest became increasingly occupied by the working class, which meant huge losses of urban intelligentsia. Zoltán Kovács, ‘Ghettoization or gentrification? Post-socialist scenarios for Budapest’ in Netherlands Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, Vol. 13, Issue 1 (1998), p. 66 51

Erdmann Doane Beynon, ‘Budapest: An Ecological Study’, in Geographical Review, Vol. 33 (1943), pp 256 32

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For a long time the only attraction of the district was the Dohány Street Jewish Synagogue on the Inner Boulevard which is the largest functioning synagogue in Europe. The rest of the quarter did not show any signiﬁcant sign of revival until 2001, when four university graduates decided to convert a crumbling factory building into a drinking establishment.

Fig. 21: Interior of Szimpla

Fig. 22: The internal courtyard

LURE OF REINVENTION The owners did not want to create another conventional high standard venue, they just wanted it to be a meeting place for similar minded artists or students with low budget bohemian lifestyle. Given the decaying but still aesthetic Austro-Hungarian era architecture and the evocative tiny courtyards, the intention was not to reconstruct the spaces but to appreciate the existing ruination as it is. The concept was simple, which gave the place the Hungarian name ‘Szimpla’. With its exposed raw brick walls still covered with wartime bullet holes, the owners used the endless scars on the building for their advantage. Even the front facade, which distinguishes itself from its neighbours with its crudeness(which are not too highly maintained either), is making a bold statement that this place has clearly no interest in restoring the building to its original state and bring back the long-gone glory of the bourgeois era. The dark sense of secrecy given by the entrance implies exclusivity and presence of subculture. The interior is composed of a series of found spaces, as doorways crudely cut into the brick partition walls suggest that the original organisation of rooms is entirely broken up. Even though the structure is retained, the resultant building is a reinvention. As they ﬁnd their way from the dimly-lit hallway through the winding corridors to the open air courtyard, the new labyrinthine sequence of rooms oﬀers the visitors a sense of discovery with surprise at each turn. The interior decoration is like a feverish junkyard with all sorts of found objects juxtaposed underneath colourful lights. As described by an American visitor, ‘stepping into the “ruin pubs”52

in Budapest's Seventh District can be a sensory overloading experience.’53 Random objects like

old bicycles are suspended in the air or television sets mounted to the walls, which gives the 52

The name ‘ruin pub’ is the direct translation of the Hungarian term ‘romkocsma’.

Marla Cimini, ‘Hip and hipper: The 'ruin pubs' of Budapest’, USA Today (25 September 2013) <http://www.usatoday.com/story/dispatches/2013/09/25/budapest-ruin-pubs/2857137/> [accessed 2 November 2013] 33

PART II: INVENTION

place a uniquely whimsical atmosphere. Furniture making follows the same philosophy: some seats are made out of bathtubs cut in half or even out of the remnants of a Trabant.54

The interventions do not cover up the half-century long dereliction, but rather they embrace and celebrate it, and it is all done in an intuitive, ‘non-designed’ way. The outcome conveys a sense of timelessness, as the decay is not frozen in time, but the building is allowed to mutate and be embellished with new layers. It is authentic, not in the sense that it gives any idea how the place used to feel like, but that it takes the patina and decaying metamorphosis as a source material and relies on the ‘redemptive eye’ of the artists to turn junk into art.55

Along with establishing the architectural frame, Szimpla also invents a new type of urban venue that understands the lifestyle of the intellectual and progressive strata of contemporary Budapest. There have always been cultural institutions, as well as an abundance of drinking establishments around in the city, however, the informal cross-section of the two has never been implemented before. The idea of opening Szimpla was not based on a pre-existing brief, a conventional client or clear precedents, nor was the initial aim to generate high profit. It aspired to create an ‘artsy’ place in an economically self-sustainable way. As described by the founders, the place is also meant to be a social experiment, a test if it is possible to support subculture in a financially sustainable way: ‘Szimpla defines itself as a “cultural reception space”, indicating the intention to embrace genres and performers off the mainstream, presenting them in an informal atmosphere.’56 Pluralistic activities such as screening of independent art house movies or hosting

organic producers’ markets did not exist during Socialism but they are not supported by the Capitalist consumerism either. The phenomenon of ruin pubs is a result of mutual formation that evolved together organically with its clientele. Despite its inconspicuous opening, the name of Szimpla spread rapidly via word of mouth and soon it established itself as a popular cult place amongst the young generation.57 Following

the incredibly quick success of Szimpla Garden, the pioneer of ruin pubs, a whole range of followers quickly emerged, applying the similar formula of transforming buildings condemned for destruction into avant-garde cultural hubs. The followers are not just copycats of the original invention, but each new place has a different concept. Apart from financial rewards, the owners are also lured by the excitement of reinvention. According to Walter Benjamin these people have an important role in the life of the city: ‘The rag-picker is an heroic urban figure, akin even to 54

Trabant was one of the most ubiquitous type of car used east to the Iron Curtain. It was mass produced in East Germany during the Cold War. 55

David Ley, ‘Artists, Aestheticisation and the Field of Gentrification’, in Urban Studies, Vol. 40, No 12. (November 2003), p. 2542

‘What is Szimpla?’, Szimpla.hu <http://szimpla.hu/en/about-us> [accessed 2 Nov. 2013]

According to Ábel Zsendovics, the owner of Szimpla, around 600 people found it within an hour after opening and from then they had full house every night. Márton Dunai, ‘Rapid rise of Budapest's 'ruin bars' sparks conflicts’, Reuters (15 March 2013) <http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/03/15/uk-hungary-nightlife-idUKLNE92E00O20130315> [accessed 2 November 2013] 34

PART II: INVENTION

the historian for, in gathering the unwanted scraps of the modern city to reconﬁgure them in a more useful form, he or she represents an allegory of “redemptive practice”’58 The buildings of

District VII became canvases for the owners who use the opportunity of sustaining wine bars, coﬀeehouses or beer gardens to redeﬁne Budapest with their imagination, humour and irony.

Fig. 23: Inside a ruin pub

PANELS AND RUINS It would be a valid question to ask what enabled the spontaneous grass roots endeavour to gain momentum and eventually to alter the cognitive map of inner city in the mind of the young generation. Or why are they suddenly drawn to the decaying old town, that had not borne much meaning for them before? A few decades ago, the same area had a repulsive eﬀect on the residents and families would move to suburbs to the newly built social houses. Escaping from the unbearable conditions of the old town, the extensive Socialist housing complexes gave refuge for a large portion of the population of Budapest.59 However, after many decades, especially follow

ing the fall of Communism, these extensive state housing estates or ‘panels’ are themselves gradually being regarded as technically outdated and symbolically related to a bygone regime.60 Now

the driving forces seem to have reversed, as the current young generation, mostly grown up in the standardised dwellings of the social houses are charged with a latent desire for rediscovering lost identities in the city and to escape from the boredom of uniformity. An obsession with old buildings with their mysteriously haunting emptiness charged with an inexplicable sense of col-

Graeme Gilloch, Myth and Metropolis: Walter Benjamin and the City (Oxford: Polity Press, 1996), p. 165

During the phase of suburban growth around Budapest, the movement of middle-class families from downtown towards the periphery merged with an inward migration of landless proletarian from the provinces to the capital. It led to the rapid formation of large suburban districts or the so called ‘red outskirts’. Zoltán Kovács, ‘Ghettoization or gentrification? Post-socialist scenarios for Budapest’ in Netherlands Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, Vol. 13, Issue 1 (1998), p. 64

The typical Socialist residential blocks were nicknamed ‘panels’ both because of their construction method (they are made of prefabricated concrete panels) and because of their uninspiring slab-like forms 35

PART II: INVENTION

lective nostalgia could be the reason why they are drawn back to reconquer the heart of the old town once again. As Les Roberts explains it: While, on the one hand, nostalgia has been critically aligned with a reactionary and counter-progressive politics - one antithetical to Marx’s forward-looking poetry from the future - on the other, nostalgia has increasingly been seen as a constitutive element in the formation - rather than dissipation - of engaged radical political subjectivity: nostalgia is being explored today not simply as a strategic exercise, and ironic re-enchantment of the modern against itself, but as a necessary resource for those who ﬁnd their political and social aspirations obliterated by monolithic versions of modernity.61

Transition from the egalitarian collectivism of the Socialist era to Capitalism which puts individualism to much higher value, is certainly a liberation. However, the inﬂux of commercialisation - with its multinational brands and the coveted, yet impersonal, lifestyle they entail - did not resonate with the young generation either. In fact, the prevailing consumerist culture is perceived by many as just another agent of the suppression of human spirit. As stated in Graña’s book: ‘all of modern society was already sort of Bolshevism; just killing the human thing and worshiping the mechanical thing.’62 It is the response to the political and cultural reality that

drove the ‘heroic urban ﬁgures’ to seek the ‘human thing’.

TRANSIENCY OF OPPORTUNITIES The phenomenon of ruin pubs brought with itself a renaissance of the Jewish Quartier and other inner city neighbourhoods. The buildings that have been untouched for nearly half a century now gained refreshed facades and the trendy shops and bakeries give the streets a renewed dynamism. During nights, especially in summer, pavements are packed with tourists throughout Europe. Budapest recently emerged as one of the top tourist destinations in Central Europe and ruin pubs have become a must-see experience beside the other attractions. However, the overwhelming popularity of ruin pubs is also a double-edged sword. It has long term negative implications on itself by accelerating the gentriﬁcation of the area: as commercial activity elevates the quartier, rising property prices force some of the ruin pubs to close down. In some cases, after being removed because their plot is taken by a real-estate developer, the pubs just emerge somewhere else, simply taking over another run-down courtyard. The pubs which initially exploited the cheap rent of the abandoned inner city estates became ‘incubators’ of cultural and social life. However, now they are facing a threat attracted by their own success. ‘In the early 2000s, there was a clear antagonism between the developers and the ruin pubs,’ says Alexandra Kowalski, a local resident and assistant professor at the Central European University

Les Roberts, ‘Regeneration, Mobility and Contested Space: Cultural Reflections on a City in Transition’ in Regenerating Culture and Society: Architecture, Art and Urban Style within the Global Politics of City-Branding, ed. by Jonathan Harris and Richard J. Williams (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2011), p. 313 62

Cesar Graña, Modernity and Its Discontents (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1967), p. 169 36

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who recently completed a study of historic preservation in the area.63 Some of the ruin pubs are "

located in listed buildings, which means the architectural interventions cannot interfere with the original building fabric. Also, the pubs do not utilise the building in the most efficient way, as they only occupy the ground floor, leaving the upper levels in a state of aesthetic ruination. As the economy of the city changes, their locations can become potentially prime inner-city plots, where it is financially more viable to build office blocks or high-end apartments. In the last two decades, a large number of buildings have been demolished to give place to new developments, and this trend of gentrification ultimately shapes the neighbourhood in a way that it threatens the coexistence of ruin pubs with the new Capitalistic developments.

Fig. 24-25: Anker’t, a ‘minimalist ruin pub’

Against the waves of gentrification, the owners had to take action. Civic organisations were formed to fight against demolitions and their preservationist effort gained the support of the pub owners. However, in the long run, the ‘parasitic’ nature of the ruin pubs can hardly compete with the effects of the free market economy. As Titusz Badonics, working at one of the ruin pubs, says unsentimentally: ‘We didn’t save the historical building on purpose, we just use it to do something which looks great in these kind of buildings. We make something until it’s gone.’64 "

The owners are not equipped with a long term vision as they speculate the venues to be a 5-10 year period of the lifespan of the building.65 Even though Szimpla is not likely to vanish because "

of the fame it established for itself, some from the following generations of ruin pubs might face demolition. A simple underground movement is now being pushed into the mainstream and even to global awareness, and ruin pubs have now become an inseparable element of the neighbourhood as well as an essential part of its economy. Even though there is an overriding interest in the preservation of the cultural identity, which is of interest to all political factions, there is an immaterial elusiveness of these migrating ! 63

Clare Foran, ‘What will happen to Budapest’s ‘Ruin Pubs’ once all the ruin is removed?’, The Atlantic Cities (4 February 2013) <http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2013/02/what-will-happen-budapests-ruinpubs-if-all-ruin-removed/4579/> [accessed 3 November 2013] ! 64

Ibid.

65 !

Katalin Tóth, ‘Architectural and Graphic Image of Anker’t’, HG.HU - Design Meets Life (14 September 2012) <http://hg.hu/cikkek/design/14742-az-ankert-grafikai-es-epiteszeti-arculata> [accessed 27 December 2013] !37

PART II: INVENTION

pubs. The nomadic nature of these places for revelry bears a spatial and temporal transient identity about Budapest. It is a unique product of the functionally overlapping period between Communism and Capitalism. As gentriﬁcation pushes the value of the area up, the ruin pubs eventually need to match the outlook of the neighbouring higher standard venues. This consequent evolution, even though it would make the spaces more sanitised and less gritty, might lack the authenticity and the overlaid layers of history that made the ruin pub phenomenon so memorable in the ﬁrst place. The sense of identity is reinforced as much by a sense of time as well as place - the opportunity is tangible and it is up to the authority to retain it.66 As a long term

product, ruin pubs did not only set an architectural precedent but also established themselves as an epicentre of creation of a new set of cultural and lifestyle preferences. The convergence of a large youth cohort, their movement into higher education, a spirit of dissent against the military-industrial complex, corporate capitalism, even the conventions of the bourgeois family - all were tendencies that elevated the prestige and the authority of an oppositional cultural competence for signiﬁcant fractions of the youthful middle class.67

Furthermore, as Chris Hamnett argues, gentriﬁcation is not simply a class or income phenomenon but carries cultural dimensions. The particularity in taste and pastime preferences essentially deﬁne the so-called ‘new middle class’, ‘who typically possess higher cultural capital than economic capital and who share something of the artist’s antipathy towards commerce and convention’68 The legacy of the dynamic revival of District VII set up a precedence of cultural

demand that could pervade and activate the neighbouring districts, enabling the mould of gentriﬁcation to be re-cast in diﬀerent urban contexts.

For instance, in the cultural quarter of Temple Bar in Dublin, the city authority has given artists long-term leases in city owned property, which has been designated for artists’ use. Charles Landry, The Creative City (London: Earthscan, 2000), p. 125

David Ley, ‘Artists, Aestheticisation and the Field of Gentrification’, in Urban Studies, Vol. 40, No 12. (November 2003), pp 2537-2540

PART II: INVENTION

Modern Nomadic Artists THE collapse of the Socialist economy entailed the decline of industrial activities which left numerous factory estates vacant throughout the capital. Due to their sturdy physical structure, factory buildings allow easy spatial transformation, thus serving as a fine basis for commercial revitalisation. As observed in the previous chapter, economically active areas, such as the inner city enjoy significant advantage in attracting businesses, whereas industrial estates far from downtown take a longer time to recover. Therefore it is generally safe to assert that the factors determining post-socialist transitional economy are dependent both on the quality of the architectural fabric as well as their distance from active economic hubs. The following investigation will look at the potentials of creative economy in challenging these preconceptions and see how ‘soft’ factors can go beyond the physical qualities of a place. Despite its peripheral location, PP Business Centre, a typical post-industrial complex with mixed transitional uses, has an interesting story of recovery. The business park is located in north-western Budapest, tucked beside a high-way radiating from the city. The extensive industrial plant resembles an self-standing settlement with its network of internal streets and mini squares surrounded by a high perimeter wall. The original textile factory was founded in 1908 and functioned until 1990. After its conversion the 40000 m2 complex is used as warehouses, office or wholesale retail spaces. Fig. 26: The interior of an artist’s studio

As an effect of the 2008 financial crisis and the entailing recession, the majority of the tenants could not afford the spaces any longer, and the complex was left in desolation. The business park complex is run by a real-estate management company, and as an attempt to bring life into the economically stagnating properties, a campaign was implemented that was not only targeted towards the potential clientele, but also invited artists. The strategy involves the principles of Corporal Social Responsibility (CSR) into the company profile by supporting artists and other 39

PART II: INVENTION

creators who were struggling to find appropriate working spaces. The temporarily vacant units are given for the use of artists or theatre groups and in exchange they either pay highly reduced rents or simply offer a piece of work in exchange. For musicians or theatre groups especially, such vast flexible spaces are ideal for rehearsals, as noise issues and time constraints are negligible in a factory plant far from residential areas. The name Partizán Galéria (Partisan Gallery) refers to the fact that the artists do not have permanent places, but their studios have to migrate in case their space is being rented out. This kind of nomadism might sound inconvenient for the occupants, however, as they have minimal equipment, one empty space is just as fine as another.

TALENT INCUBATOR While conventional commercial art galleries and studio spaces sell expensive artworks, as they rely heavily on revenue, the idea here is to create an inspiring environment for a community of artists where they can help and encourage each other’s work. In terms of income the rent paid by the artists is minimal and merely cover the maintenance costs. Having this mutualistic and reward based business model, the commercial and consumerist factor is being replaced by the sole focus on creation itself. As argued by Bourdieu, the artist’s lifestyle is a ‘site of resistance for youth from bourgeois values’ as they have higher levels of cultural capital opposed to economic capital.69 The notion of creative merit over money has also been observed by Florida who states:

Creative people no longer define themselves mainly by the amount of money they make or their position in a financially delineated status order. While money may be looked upon as a marker of achievement, it is not the whole story. There are many reasons for the emphasis on merit. Creative Class people are ambitious and want to move up based on their abilities and effort. Creative people have always been motivated by the respect of their peers.70

As a transitional activity, art does not bring profit but does not harm the building either. In exchange for the effort of publicity and recruitment of artists, the reward for the management team is the popularity of the Partizán Gallery. Because of the peripheral location of the factory complex, there is a need for a different type of competitive advantage. In the era of advanced telecommunication tools, online social media has become vital for the creative industry. All the creative output produced by the artists working in Partizán Gallery - which now include paintings, video clips, installations - are all incorporated in the online profile of the estate. Therefore, it helps determine the preconception of place which by trying to gain a place on the cognitive map of the public. As Marcell Pátkai, the manager of the estate explains: ‘It does matter that we have more than 4000 people who follow our updates.’ By increasing PR intensity and enhancing corporal image it managed to use the cultural value generated by the artists to change the way potential clients and start-up companies interpret the creative capacity of the remote industrial complex. The invention of a local ‘culture’ became a pioneering tool for recolonisation. As explained by Sharon Zukin, ‘culture suggests the 69

Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984), p. 55

Richard Florida, The Rise of The Creative Class (New York: Basic Books, 2002), p. 78 40

PART II: INVENTION

coherence and consistency of a brand name product. Like any commodity, ‘cultural’ landscape has the possibility of generating other commodities.’71 Even though it is not possible to prove

the correlation, with the presence of artists, the economic performance of PP Centre shows positive trends. The artists also contribute to the generation of an internal economy by keeping the local art suppliers and catering businesses alive. This ‘pioneering’ power of artistic behaviour has also been observed by David Ley: Artists, however, are very special members of the middle class for they stretch its imagination, its desires, even its practices, beyond its norms and conventions. The artistic lifestyle, like the creative art-work, deliberately presses the borders of conventional middle-class life, while at the same time representing its advancing, colonising arm.72

According to Charles Landry, branding can play an important role in turning weaknesses into strength. By pointing out the example of Huddersﬁeld, where utilising its cheap rent and low cost of living attracted poets and eventually turned the declining city into Britain’s capital of poetry.73 In a sense the business model of PP Centre could be regarded as an economic minia

ture of a city where the same chain reaction eﬀect could be implemented. The presence of artists and other cultural producers can used to ‘incubate’ economic activation, break cycles of decline and development positive urban branding which has become increasingly vital for regeneration in the digital age.

Sharon Zukin, The Cultures of Cities (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1995), p. 12

David Ley, ‘Artists, Aestheticisation and the Field of Gentrification’, in Urban Studies, Vol. 40, No 12. (November 2003), p. 2533

Charles Landry and Franco Bianchini, The Creative City (London: Demos, 1995), p.47. 41

CONCLUSION THE event of regime change was a self-conscious turning point for Budapest, after which

clear political initiatives could be observed that address the issue of regeneration of the dilapidated post-socialist city. Even though the two cases studied in the Intervention are largely different in terms of location, scale and character, they are linked together by the same political agenda, the National Theatre. The cases also show the unpredictable nature of post-socialist urban planning and how the public responds to the changing cityscape. In case of Budapest, the National Theatre is also related to the newly regained independence, therefore the Theatre project also constitutes as an emblem marking the difference between the new Budapest from the Socialist Budapest. The regime change also resulted in an influx of foreign investments and in the case of Millennium City Centre, the project is a synthesis of a national symbol, a Bilbao-inspired grand cultural investment and a master-plan that has to cater for the large scale commercial developments. However, there has to be an interconnected eco-system established with the exiting urban and social context for the interventions to be effective. Similar observations have been made by Stevenson, who points out that cultural planning has become concerned with ‘intervening and achieving outcomes that relate to a conception of culture as a civilising process that is not dynamic, flexible and situational, but linear and linked to a set of clearly defined political and governmental objectives’74

Deborah Stevenson, ‘Civic Gold Rush: Cultural planning and the politics of the Third Way’, in International Journal of Cultural Policy No. 10 (2004), p. 125

Comparing the two intervention projects by evaluating the role they play in the public life, ironically, the ‘failed’ project of National Pit turned out to be more a success. As for some the Pit symbolises the triumph of creating something meaningful out of an absurd and imperfect reality, it could be regarded as an epitome or miniature journey of post-socialist urban progress. It also exemplifies the non-linearity of developments and the fact that there is always an inherent potential in the previously failed projects. However, the solutions are not always foreseeable, and to explore the opportunities, the power of creativity and imagination is required. The urban spaces are often transformed organically by the public behaviour, therefore it is important for the authorities to understand the changes in social preferences and enable the capacity of the spontaneity of the users to contribute to the formulation of place-making. In the inner city districts of Budapest, the economic transitional era also provided exciting opportunities for the creative strata. While the remnants of the Socialist era gave the crumbling architectural fabric as a unique source material for the artists, the Capitalist era provided the necessary economic and social context. Both the ruin pub scenery and Partizán Gallery exploit the opportunities given by a specific place and time, and they imply the recognition that, in a sense, cities are always in a transitional period, therefore, the ‘construction period’ is as important as the ‘final’ result. The ‘soft factors’ generated are not permanent or static in nature, as the trend of gentrification incubated by their effort could eventually replace their territories. By colonising obsolete voids, ruin pubs added another layer of meaning to the city, as they ‘construct meaning by taking those objects, signs or forms from dominant culture and injecting them with their own meaning.’75 Artistic activity responses to the mainstream in an imaginative

and non-idealised way and their work also celebrate individualism against the uniformity of modernity (whether its Socialism or Capitalist commercialism). In an era when cities desperately seek regional identity, subculture and art could be give authentic character to the urban environment as well as enhance the image of the place.

In an attempt to reflect on the discussions, as mentioned before, due to the limited scope of study, only a small number of case studies are selected, judged by their relevance to the topic - therefore the dissertation works within a specific frame in space and time (two decades after the disintegration of Socialism). However, it also leaves the interesting opportunity for revisiting the topic and the same places in the future. Furthermore, as some social and urban observations are based on subjective interpretation (by the author who lived in the city for more than a decade), there could naturally be different perceptions concerning Budapest.

Dougal Sherian, ‘The Space of Subculture in the City: Getting Specific about Berlin’s Indeterminate Territories’, in Field Journal Vol. 1 (2007), p. 110 43

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Welsh School of Architecture Ethics Approval Form For Student Projects # M.Arch

Tick one box:

"! Undergraduate

Title of project:

Rehabilitating Post Socialist Dereliction

! Masters

The Role of Creative Economy in Transforming Modern Budapest Name of student(s):

Dan Liu

Name of supervisor:

Oriel Prizeman

Contact e-mail address:

liu_dani@icloud.com

Date:

16 January 2014

! !

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!48

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! 50