Come in! - Talking Houses /Shared Stories at Budapest

The ‘Come in! – talking houses shared stories’ URBACT Transfer Network is centred on the good practice entitled Weekend of Open Houses. This is a community festival in Budapest called “Budapest100” celebrating the city’s built heritage and common values. The Budapest100 community festival was initiated in 2011 by the Vera and Donald Blinken OSA  and the Contemporary Architecture Centre, celebrating buildings turning 100-years old that year during a thematic weekend.  Since 2015 the celebration of 100-year-old buildings is not possible anymore due to WWI, so each year the focus is on different themes, at 2019 the 100 years old Bauhaus. Nevertheless, the main method is the same, expressed well by the festival’s motto: every single building is interesting and important.

The Come in! URBACT network is led by Municipality of Újbuda, the multifaceted 11th district of Budapest, a district whose downtown area is usually very active in Budapest100.  The municipality also has a strategic relationship with the Contemporary Architecture Centre to boost local dynamics of the creative sector (this is the aim of the Creative Spirit URBACT Implementation Network, also led by Újbuda).

The ‘Come in! – talking houses shared stories’ network provides exchange and learning activities for a number of cities and their stakeholders coming from different corners of Europe and having a residential area with strong spirit, to understand the good practice, prepare local plans for its adaptation and test its reuse on small-scale. The main aim of the good practice is primarily not to protect buildings, but to encourage civilian power alongside the built environment as a catalyst. Its broad mission is to initiate a common discussion about urban revival and to inspire the establishment and strengthening of residential communities and to take action against urban social isolation by using cultural heritage and built environment as a tool.

During the Masterclass weekend, the participating cities of the project - Gheorgheni, Varasd, Targówek-Warsaw, Plasencia, Forli, Pori - will be able to enjoy the experience of Budapest100 and participate in various thematic programs and workshops.