‘Green spine’ connects the Zugló City Centre by ZHA to the Rákos Creek in Budapest

International practice, Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has been announced winner of the architectural design tender for the development of the Zugló City Centre in Budapest. Located on the Pest side in the 14^th district, the design integrates homes, shops and offices, weaving it with nearby Rákos Creek through a ‘green spine.’

Scheduled to start construction in early 2022, the seven-hectare site is located between Bosnyák Square and Rákos Creek. The design by ZHA is a landscape enquiry, weaving new public squares and gardens through the heart of the design, interconnected with the Rákos Creek.

The proposal builds upon the site’s surrounding urban fabric, drawing inspiration from the city of Budapest and the surrounding ecosystem of the creek.

According to the landscape designer, LAND Italia, the design develops a future-proof solution, developing a strong bond with the re-naturalisation of Rákos Creek. This helps enhancing biodiversity, and establishing a comprehensive natural ecosystem, facilitating ecological connectivity with the broader landscapes.

The design creates continuous gardens and public squares lined with restaurants, cafes, shops, apartments, offices, new medical clinic, and town hall.

 

“The project will create one of the greenest and most sustainable neighbourhoods on the Pest side of the capital,” said Gianluca Racana, Director of Zaha Hadid Architects.

 

“The new city centre, organically linked to the surrounding area and Rákos Creek, will equally offer residential, office, commercial and leisure services which will form a harmonious whole with the large green areas and community spaces that will be created. The complex development will also pay tribute to the architecture, culture and history of the beautiful capital, Budapest, while paving the way for the future with state-of-the-art solutions.”

The sustainable development incorporates 3.5 hectares of communal green space, the third largest in the district. The design connects to the natural ecosystem of Rákos Creek through a ‘green spine’ which includes planting of 900 new trees and defining the central axis of the city centre.

Through this, ZHA’s design helps transform the future urban plazas and gardens into natural parkland, enabling easy access to Nature for the people living in the 14^th district.

This landscape strategy is complemented by new pedestrian zones and new bike paths, encouraging urban micro-mobility that allows connecting various functions within a short distance.

The design includes a renewable powered central plant, reducing energy consumption, compared to buildings using traditional heating and energy supply.

To reduce solar gains during summers, the architects have incorporated insulating green roofs along with collection, storage, and reuse of 90,000 cubic metres of rainwater per year.

According to the architects, careful building orientation and composition will naturally help regulate temperature within the centre, decreasing summer peaks by up to 6°C, compared to average temperatures in downtown Budapest.

The ZHA design for Zugló City Centre puts landscape and Nature at the centrestage, creating people-first development. The design seeks to restore Nature and create ecologically-driven scheme, which aims to bring biodiversity eco system connectivity to the cities.

 

 

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PROJECT DETAILS

Project: Zugló City Centre
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Date: 2021 / 2029
Client: Bayer Construct Group
Status: Design
Design: Zaha Hadid Architects
ZHA Project Principal: Gianluca Racana
ZHA Project Director: Maurizio Meossi
ZHA Project Associate: Cristina Capanna
ZHA Project Lead Designer: Bogdan Zaha
ZHA Competition Team: Millie Anderson, Sara Criscenti, Harry Spraiter, Shi Qi Tu, Carlos Bausa Martinez, Pierandrea Angius, Anat Stern, Vishu Bhoshaan, Henry Louth, Federico Borello
ZHA Project Team: Zsuzsanna Barat, Sara Criscenti, Shi Qi Tu, Damir Alisphahic, Alessandro Cascone, Benedetta Cavaliere, Juan Pablo Londono, Gabriele De Giovanni, Luciana Maia Teodozio, Yaseen Bhatti, Lara Zakhem, Alexandra Fisher, Dilara Yurttas, Rotem Lewinsohn
Local Executive Architect: LIMA Design
Landscape: LAND Italia srl
Sustainability: ABUD
Urban Planning: Obeliszk
Mobility / Traffic Simulation: Innoqalea
Road Design: Mobil-city
Fire & Safety: Fireeng