In 2019, we launched an experimental project involving three high schools in Budapest. As part of the series of five workshops, high school students became acquainted with the genre of urban walks and the built heritage of their own school's surroundings. During the sessions, they mastered the methods of urban research, and students from each institution developed their own walk. We explored the walks, showcasing the school's environment thematically, led by the students themselves. The schools received a map-fold brochure edited from the walk's summary.
From the outset, our goal was to organise the workshop in additional high schools to equip even more young people with the tools needed to explore their own environment. It is important to know our built environment, and urban walks can easily draw the attention of both local residents and tourists visiting the city to local values. As we get to know our closer environment better, we will appreciate and love it more, and thus we will care for our cities more responsibly and consciously.
The programme has since continued with great success, and we have implemented the walks with the participation of more than a dozen high school groups. Schools involved to date:
2019: Eötvös József High School, Toldy Ferenc High School, Városmajor High School
2022: Budapest District I Kosztolányi Dezső High School, Budapest District II. Rákóczi Ferenc High School, ELTE Trefort Ágoston Practice High School, BKSZC Schulek Frigyes Bilingual Construction Technical School, Budapest District IX Weöres Sándor High School
2024: Budapest District VI Kölcsey Ferenc High School, ELTE Radnóti Miklós Practice School, ELTE Trefort Ágoston Practice High School, Eötvös József High School, Kempelen Farkas High School
2025: Baár–Madas Reformed High School, General School and Boarding School, Budapest District II. Rákóczi Ferenc High School, BKSZC Schulek Frigyes Bilingual Construction Technical School, BMSZC Petrik Lajos Bilingual Technical School, Szent István High School
The 14+ Budapest project achieved first place in the national round of the Golden Cubes Awards in 2023 in the institutional category. Organised within the framework of the „Architecture and Children” Programme by the Association of Hungarian Architects (MÉSZ) and the Union International des Architectes (UIA), the competition is held every three years to showcase the best domestic initiatives in built environmental education.
