The Architecture of Survival

The KÉK – Contemporary Architecture Centre, Trafó – House of Contemporary Arts, the Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art, and the French Institute of Budapest are organising a symposium aimed at re-examining the work of Yona Friedman within the contemporary domestic and international social, architectural, and artistic context, as well as facilitating the meeting of architects, urbanists, visual artists, theorists, and activists who engage with or draw inspiration from Friedman's oeuvre.

The ambition of the symposium is to review Friedman's concepts concerning art, architecture, urbanism, social work, and technology, and to examine the applicability of these concepts to current locations and situations, particularly in light of the current economic crisis. The symposium's presentations will reposition Friedman’s work, revisiting and analysing its impact on contemporary architecture and art by examining the architect’s ideas on mobility, urban infrastructure, and community participation, while also emphasising the dilemma of presenting this work within an artistic-aesthetic context.