Zaha Hadid Architects reveals the winning design proposal for a mixed-use development in Budapest, comprising residential, office and retail functions, tied together by civic spaces and landscaped areas. The Zugló City Centre establishes a network of public squares and urban gardens that re-establish the natural ecosystem of Rákos Creek and connects the new development to the surrounding framework of parks and avenues.
The project incorporates a series of climate adaptation and sustainable features, such as insulating green roofs, rainwater collection systems. The volumetric composition and expansive green areas also serve a climate-related purpose, decreasing summer temperatures by up to 6 degrees compared to the average temperature in Budapest city centre. The design also features a centralized plant, which will help reduce energy consumption.
The project will create one of the greenest and most sustainable neighbourhoods on the Pest side of the capital. The new city centre, organically linked to the surrounding area and Rákos Creek, will equally offer residential, office, commercial, and leisure services, forming a harmonious whole with the large green areas and community spaces 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 - Gianluca Racana, Director of Zaha Hadid Architects.
The green areas define the central axis of the development, and when completed, they will become a new city park, the third-largest in the district. The 900 new trees, the urban plazas, the gardens and ponds will allow the neighbourhood's dwellers to establish a new connection with nature. The project also features extensive pedestrian areas and bike paths meant to encourage micro-mobility. Together with the development, the surrounding road network will be improved by adding newly landscaped areas. Construction, unfolding in phases, will begin early next year, with the project scheduled for completion in 2029.
