My thesis deals with the combination of social housing with a public functions. I explore what architectural tools are available to support the extension of the social network. I analyse examples of public and municipal housing in Budapest from the turn of the century to the present day in terms of the composition of the residential community, community spaces, public functions and embeddedness in the city. Furthermore, I present hungarian and international examples where the symbiosis of community building and housing is the architectural guiding principle. The research will form the basis of my architectural thesis, an attempt to combine social housing with a community house.