An organizing grid of the whole project for the urban dimension with free approach to the architectural dimension (scale) of the contest area; that’s the plan for Angylföld - Budapest.
2001 rappresents a bridge between two centuries, Budapest is itself a bridge town (East and West meet here) as it’s considered by the Europan organizers... After the political changes in 1990 in this part of Budapest a great opportunity has come into being: to plan side by side the strict order of socialist urbanism and the more individualistic irregularity of western experiences giving the project a valence of “bridge experiment”. Here there is the chance to think different, to plan a “irregular order” that meets both above-mentioned methods: a simple organizing and structural grid that assures a coherence with urban development of last decades in Hungarn, useful for easy phasing development of the area and a new approach for the architectural scale of the proposal creating particular different situations for private, semipublic and public spaces.
Under common and straights (formly rigid) roofs, different residential units follow one another at short and irregular intervals starting from Vaci Street to the bay. Roofs contain under their structures all the technical and technological systems and become a sort of spines of the residential blocks. This layout provides easy access and manteinance: it’s possible, besides, to add more systems in different time without relevant costs. Solar cells, rain-water tanks, energy batteries may be added along the building life helping to spread bioarchitectural thesis. Refluent water, after its first depuration in suitable basins, goes to the large phytodepuration pool close to the waterfront.
The project would offer, on the other side, the maximum of freedom for residential units location on the ground level and a clear separation between pedestrian and motor vehicle access to the area; these accesses work in different levels with the motor vehicle one running through a cutting for the whole residential area lenght, freeing open spaces for private gardens, green and public places. This unusual solution is adopted for limiting vehicoles access only to residents. Two underground parking lots are provided for them, while one more, this one public, is located at ground floor under a “green roof” directly connected to Vaci Street and without any connections with residential area.
Pedestrian and cycle track runs tangent to Vaci Street along this border in an upper level (second) on a planned bank. From here, glass corridors penetrate into the residential area taking place under the straight roofs. At the second level of the blocks cycle park terraces are provided between adjacent residential units for inhabitants. From here elevators and common stairs distribute to different appartments/floors. At ground floor more tracks cut residential area creating a network of semipublic and public spaces with many public facilities located in the basement of the blocks, surgery, library, clubs, etc.
By the mentioned bank it’s possible to reach Duna Plaza and nearby commercial square passing along ceased railway track without crossing any vehicular street. Project provides this old track to gently decline inside commercial area becoming a preferential urban foot-path under which is convenient to locate the planned parking garage close to the planned new Hotel (this in form of a Bridge upon the access Meder Street from South, a sort of gate to new residential area).
The border on Vaci Street, otherwise, is delimited by the pedestrian bank with its tall walls that follow the line of the higway but all with different lenght and angolation to magnify the dynamism of the traffic. Sometimes small and/or large hole open in the wall identifys a simple access to the residential area or a shop or the parking place, maybe a bus-stop waiting room or some public facilities (toilets, telephone, ticket-offices for urban lines..). This structure becomes an important spine for the street front but results architecturally silent in its constructing semplicity and form.
To the north, at the end of the contest area, the wall opens on a ramp to the heightened projected plaza where more commercial and officies take place. The walls on Vaci Street form a physical and visual border of the new residential and commercial development and are mainly useful to moderate the heavy traffic-noise pollution of the road. The appartment located nearby the wall are conveniently reserved for temporary use, for students or workers...
Of course the residential blocks decline in height from Vaci Street to Duna River.