Apartments*. Why?
It is a good point to start. Having a home, the feeling of being at home is one of the primary human needs, since our ancestors found refugee in a cave and decorated its walls and ceilings. Home is a place where we want to feel safe and comfortable. Especially since the pandemic everybody became more conscius how important is to have a home, which fits our changing needs. Having a comfortable and healthy space. By healthy I don’t mean only the tidiness and regular cleaning, or eliminating all possibly toxic construction materials, but also a well-functioning and well-proportioned space for our mental well-being. I believe that we can make the world a better place through these projects, even if in a small scale, but having a direct effect on people's everyday life.
Refurbishment. Why?
Mainly due to the unprofessional and low-budget modifications after the 2nd world war, when the only legitim goal was to give a roof for thousands of people, most of the apartments in Budapest city center still suffer from terribly inconvenient cuts and badly organized functions. And even 30 years after the end of the communist era there is a lot to do! Comparing to demolitions and new constructions, refurbishment is a green and more sustainable alternative to create apartments with modern living standards, still respecting the values of the old buildings and revitalizing them.
What is our design concept?
According to me the first and most important step is to reorganize well the spaces, find the best place and the required area for each living function. In historical buildings I also keep as top priority to maintain and restore the original values of the buildings. The functional reorganization respects those values and is always supported by solid technical bases, well working implants. Than we can "dress up" the apartments in fancy ways or leave to the inhabitants to customize them.
Good design is not a question of money and definitely not a luxury, but is the result of thinking and consideration; the proper technical characteristics to put behind are long term investments.
About the projects:
Most of our apartments were designed for investors, with medium and long term rental purposes. Which means from one side less possibility to customize the properties for personal taste. While on the other side it is required to create spaces, which can be used comfortably by very different people. Some clients aim to go with more neutral design to be able to reach a wider range of possible tenants. Some others prefer to create more unique designs or functional combinations, what tenants can find interesting or entertaining for a few months or few years. But all of our clients agree that the refurbishment has to include a total technical modernization, to be able to face the 21th century's needs.
*We decided to show apartment refurbishment projects in this portfolio site, as this is our main profile, but as architect and contractors we do many other projects of different kinds: schools, bars, offices, roof-reconstructions, heritage facade renovations, (re)construction of family houses or smaller condominiums!