d+a | Issue 115 • Apr/May 2020

/ RESIDENTIAL / 78 FIRST PHASE, 2005 Commissioned to restore the building in 2005, the conservation of the industrial property was the highest priority for T2.a Architects. Constructed in the 1860s, the brick factory was one of the first steam-driven roller mills in Hungary, where grain was ground into high- quality flour. It was abandoned in the early 1990s after modern factories were built on the outskirts of the city. Although it had fallen into disrepair, the architects were impressed by the remarkable samples of industrial architecture, particularly the huge brick walls, wooden slabs and roof structures. “The clean, functional building volumes (and) rational yet high quality structures were outstanding among the neighbouring concrete block buildings from the 1970s socialist era,” says architect Bence Turányi. “It was an inspiring task to imagine a ABOVE. Inward facing walls have a playful finish with pops of colour from the red and white terraces. 21st century lifestyle into this environment, to give new meaning to this more than 100-year-old building, a living witness of the sometimes-turbulent history of the country.” During the first phase, the residential function, building volumes, vertical cores and staircases were defined. As building codes didn’t allow them to keep the original wooden structures, the architects were tasked with restoring BENCE TURÁNYI, T2.a ARCHITECTS