Human Compound

Humanitarian architecture in Hungary could help a big number of homeless people, in my opinion. I have elaborated a model in which I designed the transformation and expansion of an already-existing building complex in the town center of Pécs. This is an area where I intend to provide work, accommodation and support for those who need them.

A complex research, the examination of humanitarian architecture in terms of Hungary, resulted in the analysis of the group of homeless people. This layer tends to include some individuals who are balancing between being a person without home and having a better quality of living. They are mentally strong and with a set of objectives, but cannot progress without support. In order to have a successful solution, the urban tissue is important, since it can provide reintegration and sustainable workplaces. I was searching for simplicity when I found a building under monument protection. This building in the center of Pécs was suitable to give home to my model called “Human Compound”. I have kept the already-existing buildings in order to cause the minimum amount of intervention. The main objective is to strengthen the social position of the residents and forge them into a community, together with creating normal living conditions. The basic requirements of its existence: - the preservation of the private sector regarding the residents; providing job opportunities for them; - unlimited housing for rent; - establishing a self-sustaining system. The housing and workplace have divided the area into two parts, private and public, which are visually separable due to the slope of the terrain. Because of the buzzing life in the streets, the entrance of the Compound opens the public space as a symbolic exclamation mark, thus displaying the interior environment. The courtyard plays a role in connecting and strengthening functions. In favor of expressing the separation between the already-existing conditions and the built parts, the buildings were connected with a flat roof structure. The visual separation was important, since the existing structure could be preserved and not overwritten. The perimetric development method, which defines the area, was formed by buildings with high roof. Workshops, restaurant and rentable conference rooms provide work for the inhabitants of the complex. The model can be utilized in other cities after it is tailored to the local needs.