Budapest100 is an extraordinary architectural-cultural festival, a celebration of communities and the city, a weekend that brings city dwellers and neighbours closer together and highlights the built values surrounding us. This annual civic celebration, attracting more than ten thousand visitors, is a programme organised through the collaboration of volunteers, local patriots, and city dwellers who love their buildings, with its original concept by Blinken OSA Archive and the project run by KÉK – Contemporary Architecture Centre.
The programme focuses as much on the former Budapest as it does on the present, from often neglected, altered, now unadorned houses to spectacular and impressive buildings that are rarely open to the public. The increasingly popular Budapest100 initiates joint reflection on renewal and encourages the formation of cohesive residential communities and more conscious urban users. We owe the realisation of the event each year to the conscientious work of numerous organisers, researchers, press, and volunteers.
Budapest100 started in 2011 as a celebration of century-old houses, from which its name originates. Since 2016, we embarked on a new direction, selecting different city districts and various themes each year, as few new houses could be built during and after World War I. Each year's theme selection is crucial in relating to some current urban issue or problem, engaging a wide audience in the discourse on the topic, besides organising small-scale events focused on individual buildings.
The Open House Weekend, from 2022, is complemented by a Professional Day and a Walking Day – the former includes a conference or other professional programme, while the latter features city walks led by experts related to the theme.
Although the theme changes annually, the programme's motto remains constant: every house is interesting!
International Recognitions:
Liveable City Award (Lebendige Stadt Foundation, 2013)
SozialMarie Award (2017)
URBACT Good Practice Award (2017)
Cultural Heritage in Action Good Practice Award (2021)
part of the Council of Europe's cultural heritage strategy (2021)
Oslo Architecture Triennale Neighborhood Index Good Practice (2022)
European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award (2023)
European Union Prize for Citizen Science – Honorary Mention (2024)
National Recognitions:
Volunteer Programme of the Year (2014)
ICOMOS Award for Exemplary Monument Maintenance (2020)
Belváros-Lipótváros Municipality – Future of the City Award (2021)
Budapest City Municipality – Ráday Mihály Award for Budapest's Built Heritage (2022)
International Collaborations:
Shared Cities: Creative Momentum (2016–2020)
DANUrB (2017–2022)
URBACT Transfer network (2018–2021)
Culture Heritage in Action Peer Learning Program (2021–2022)
City Memories (2022–2024)
Publications:
Episodes from the History of the Buda Castle District (2022)
City Variations (2023)
Personal Modern - Architectural Interviews from the '70s (2024)
Book published in 2000 copies: Budapest100 Stories - Twenty-four of the Three Hundred (2017)
