Skrabák Julianna
Architecture MA
supervisor
Csomay Zsófia
masterwork consultant
Zombor Gábor
masterwork opponent
Valkai Csaba
thesis consultant
German Kinga
thesis opponent
Tamáska Máté
masterwork
IN-BETWEEN PLACE
Forebays and micro-communities along the Danube
For Budapest, it would be important to provide space to local micro-communities to highlight the importance of the presence of special and alternative inhabitants, making the quality of local life even more nuanced. In my masterwork I attempt to do so. To the now-functionless forebays along the Danube in Budapest, I assign secluded groups, micro-communities that usually remain invisible. Eight locations at the feet of bridges form a system, together with the site of my design project. The latter, the Nehru Bank, is the key site of the design project. The Nehru Bank is a pocket area in the urban fabric, and it is separated from the river by the tallest retaining wall along the riverbank in the city. In my concept, the Nehru Bank and the Danube are connected to create a third, in-between quality, where the use of the building changes with the movement of the river. The building remains inconspicuous, like the forebays at the feet of the bridges: it is a sauna wall, built behind the wall of the embankment, with the water flowing through its spaces. The platforms carved from the embankment wall and the saunas open towards the river. The only enclosed core that the water cannot enter is the interior of the sauna. The platforms and the terraces of the saunas provide a closer visual connection to the Danube, and as the tubs extend downwards, you can physically sense the water of the river. The chimneys and entrances that reach above the surface are sign-like objects. The sauna as a ritual space provides an opportunity to break away from the bustling urban life and wind down. It creates a transition between the life around us and our inner reality.
thesis
AN INVENTORY OF THE DANUBE
Qualities of the river and the city, as seen in the relationship between the Danube and Budapest
My thesis supports my diploma project and relies on personal experience, problem exploration, solution-oriented analysis, hypotheses and observations to accurately define general problems related to the riverbank of the Danube, and the master’s plan will provide potential solutions. The study analyses the downtown section of the Danube in Budapest, from the Újpest Railway Bridge to the Rákóczi Bridge, from several aspects and formulates hypotheses to provide a precise picture of the current situation as it is explored. This is the first step towards understanding the causal relationships behind the problems we see, and it serves as a basis and a reference point for finding effective solutions in the future design stage. The thesis has an inductive structure and intends to explore the complexity of the situation. It raises questions such as: Why is the Danube important? How can it be a part of our everyday life? How and where can we create a connection with the water of the Danube in the city centre? What aspects need to be considered for the development of a comprehensive and appropriately scaled solution?My thesis moves from theory to specific steps, from general to personal experiences, from emotional to objective issues – from the general aspects of the relationship between a river and a city to the specific issues of the Danube and Budapest. I first describe the needs, qualities and opportunities of connection, then I explore the boundaries of the river and the city from various aspects. I present examples from Budapest and abroad, I analyse the quality of the built Danube bank, and through all this, I express my own experiences and build a personal connection with the Danube.