Collective Workshop House

Our work started with research, examination of the history and building stock of Jewish Quarter. The alternative interpretation of courtyards of TENEMENTS generated a unique milieu in the city. Seizing the image of a constantly pulsating atmosphere, where collaborations can develop from random friendships, we created the Collective Workshop House.

The basic idea was to reflect with an architectural answer for the collective art and creative "colonies" in Budapest, which are typically organized from the bottom up, created by their efforts. Our goal was to select the most colorful palette of small-scale workshops, that can represent a new, unique and exciting line in the world of the creative market by COOPERATING, HELPING AND ASSOCIATING with each other. For outside observers to get involved in the working process, we created open workshop spaces that function as a common creative space. In addition, we associate service functions with our basic concept, which are indirectly related to the concept of craftsmanship, as well as create an environment that everyone can visit as part of an event, program or festival. In the spirit of collaboration, we connected the two building masses with a common platform according to the dual approach. The platform appears as part of the canyon, as a scene of community life, which ensures the connection between the different workshops. The entire concept places emphasis on the canyon that appears through the block, which cuts the building's interior facade like a cross-section, where the structure and materiality of the structure emerge, and then the street facades fit into the downtown streetscape with their homogeneity. When choosing the structure, we highlighted several aspects: starting from the function, it was important to create contiguous, high-ceilinged, and flexible spaces and workshops that are suitable for accommodating various small-scale crafts. The other aspect was the high quality and precise execution expected of constructions in the downtown environment. The application of the prefabricated system proved to be an innovative solution for all of these. Prefabrication can be used not only in industrial architecture, but also in residential and public buildings, and is an increasingly popular technology in a rethought context. The alternative housing forms and structural design of the building can be compared to the operation of a shelf system which can be stacked, lifted, or even rearranged.