Graphisoft Residential

What makes a residential development economically successful while representing architectural value and providing a healthy, livable environment for its residents? How can an architect meet the often seemingly contradictory expectations of their clients? In other words, how can it be elegant, human-centered, and intimate while also being economical and efficient?

We were chasing the answers to these questions while designing the residential condominiums for the southern entrance of Graphisoft Park. The design emphasizes:

• Character, which provides a lovable home for the residents and market differentiation for the developer,

• Efficiency, which aims for excellent layout design of both common and private areas,
• Generosity, which permeates the entire project from spacious main entrances, comfortable garage spaces, to the state-of-the-art facade design, and
• Economy, which makes not only the construction costs but also long-term operation favorable.

The site is located on the former Óbuda gas factory area, at the southern end of Graphisoft Park. The area is divided into three plots, with the last becoming a public park. Our main design principle was to open the buildings towards the Danube and the favorable orientation, while creating more closed masses towards the busy Ángel Sanz Briz Road. Due to the geometry of the plots, the building masses are oriented north-south, complemented by smaller, perpendicular wings.

The buildings have pedestrian access through a central elegant reception area from both Ángel Sanz Briz Road, and the new service road created on the riverside. We envisioned the service road as a pedestrian-dominated residential street, where cars can circulate at limited speeds to enter the underground garages. On the ground floor, we positioned public functions, cafes, shops, and offices on the busy roadside, while on the protected inner side, we designed apartments overlooking the inner protected garden.

The buildings are ground floor + 4, and on the larger plot, ground floor + 5-6 floors, with penthouse apartments on the top. The quality of the apartments is guaranteed by the narrow building masses and the layout that allows only four units per floor in each staircase. Thanks to this approach, every apartment has more facade, and the larger ones are always in corner positions. We did not plan any central corridors, so all apartments have facades and terraces open towards the Danube.

The basic mass of the building is a regular rectangular form with brick cladding, which has a regular rhythm of window openings on the closed side and is complemented by terraces on the opposite facade. The white wavy parapets of the terraces were inspired by the Danube River, giving dynamism to the facade and dividing it into areas with different uses. On the wider parts of the trapezoidal balconies, a dining table for 4-6 people can be placed, while on the narrower part, a quieter, resting area can be created in the protection of the vegetation in the planters integrated into the parapet walls.

In the wider environment of the area, according to our proposal, several pedestrian crossings would be established on Ángel Sanz Briz Road. The road, slowed down by the crossings, would make the area more urban, connect the new buildings to the suburban street system to the west of the area, and finally, provide a much more pleasant pedestrian connection to the HÉV Kaszásdűlő stop.