RAK-PARK

The RAK-PARK design competition addressed one of Budapest’s most important urban situations: the renewal of the Pest-side inner-city Danube embankment. The riverfront section between Kossuth Square and Fővám Square is at once a transport corridor, an urban frontage, a World Heritage setting and a riverside area suitable for public use. The aim of the competition was to transform the Danube embankment from a transit zone into a more usable and liveable urban public space, better connected to the city centre.

The design task covered the pedestrian- and bicycle-oriented renewal of the embankments and adjoining public spaces, as well as the examination of a public-purpose floating structure system to be installed on the Danube. The concept had to address transport connections, green areas, utilities, riverside use, flood protection aspects and the values of the historic cityscape at the same time.

We participated in the project as a design partner. Our work was connected to a complex urban development concept in which engineering thinking and urban design could only provide a viable answer together. The key professional question was how to balance the embankment’s transport role, the public use of the riverside and the protection of the World Heritage environment.

By rethinking the pedestrian and transport zones along the Danube, the competition entry examined the possibility of creating an inner-city riverside environment that connects more closely to the urban fabric while respecting the historic character of the embankment. The entry received a purchase award in the design competition.

Consortium partners: Lépték-Terv Kft., CDC Településfejlesztési Tervező és Tanácsadó Kft., Pro Arch Építész Stúdió Bt., Fehérvári és Fekete Kft.

Awards and recognitions:

RAK-PARK – Architectural design competition for the complex renewal of the Pest-side inner-city Danube embankment between Kossuth Square and Fővám Square, 2015 – Purchase Award