Thursday, 16 January 2020, 17.00
Ferkai András: Modern házak és lakóik. A Napraforgó utcai kislakásos mintatelep története
Terc Kiadó, 2019
introducing the book architect Tamás Dévényi
The houses of Napraforgó Street in Buda were built in 1931 during the Great Depression. The housing complex prototype of twenty-two detached houses was built with the intention to prove that small plots were sufficient to build full-fledged houses with every comfort of modern living. This is the first book dedicated to Napraforgó Street. It tells the authentic history of the housing complex prototype, introduces its novel features and reception, and attempts to reconstruct the original condition of the houses with contemporary plans, documents and photographs. Last but not least, the book recounts the joyful, but sometimes tumultuous, lives of the families who have lived in them.
The author is a renowned university professor, architect and architectural historian whose research field is architecture between the two wars, and modernism in particular. The subject of volume is the housing complex prototype on Napraforgó Street, built in 1931, the only one of its kind in Hungary, so its uniqueness is indisputable. Although the houses on Napraforgó Street were not built in the spirit of the Bauhaus, Bauhaus’ 100th anniversary is drawing a lot of attention to all modern architecture. This is the first book of substance on the Napraforgó Street. The author presents the history of the houses and the period with an interesting human touch through the inhabitants’ stories and numerous archival photographs, which makes the book an enjoyable read for anyone.