GANZ 82
The aim of the project is to renovate and repurpose a vacant property in an environmentally sustainable way, and repurpose it for social and community uses. The location of the project is the former industrial site of Ganz in the eighth district of Budapest. The property consists of three floors above the ground and one semi-basement floor located partially below the ground, which together add up to 2400 m2. The intended functions of the building were developed based on the needs of cooperatives or social initiatives which struggle to access real estates in Budapest, even though accessing space would be an essential condition for their work towards achieving their missions.
As a response to the housing needs experienced in Budapest, on the second floor of the building we plan to create affordable one- and two-bedroom housing units for low-income workers. The first floor will be developed in cooperation with the College for Advanced Studies in Social Theory, which is a student organisation focused on critical social sciences. We will create dormitory, community and educational spaces for the students. On the ground floor, there will be offices and workshops of NGOs and cooperatives, as well as a conference room and a cafeteria. The basement will house additional workshops, rehearsal rooms and a sustainable food distribution centre. The diverse functions accommodated in the building will facilitate the cooperation between different fields and strengthen the network of organisations who base their work on principles of solidarity.
The Ganz82 project is a value-generating non-profit investment, both in terms of its commitment to social and environmental values. However, we also believe that its significance goes beyond its direct impact: it contributes to the establishment of non-profit real estate development in Hungary and serves as an example for the socially aware reuse of urban brownfield sites and industrial heritage, which are underutilised across the country.
Why the Ganz site?
Since the creation of Kazán Community House, ACRED has been paying particular attention to properties located on the Ganz site of Budapest’s eighth district. After the end of the state socialist regime in Hungary, the area was privatised as shared property on one cadaster title owned by a number of separate entities. The industrial production on the site has mostly stopped, and has been replaced by trade and storage functions. Therefore the Ganz site is not strongly integrated into the everyday life of the city, and is somewhat of an independent ecosystem. Because of the unusual ownership structure, the development of the area is neglected by both public figures and the municipality.
A valuable feature of alternative, non-profit real estate development is its flexible adaptability to the specific characteristics of certain areas, compared to conventional profit-based models. The Ganz site is situated in a dynamically developing area of Budapest and the operation of Kazán Community House has shown that the site can be a perfect environment for solidarity-based initiatives. This is why ACRED is paying particular attention to properties located on the Ganz site, and besides other factors these were the features that called the GANZ 82 project to life.
New European Bauhaus Prize winning project
The project plan submitted by the name of „Cooperative Ownership for Communities ” was awarded with a New European Bauhaus Prize by the European Commission. The prize aims to honour projects or project ideas that combine the values of inclusivity, sustainability and beauty.
Erasmus project
ACRED is currently working on a small-scale partnership project together with Ko gradi grad titled: ‘Developing learning materials for prospective residents of community-led affordable housing projects’, thanks to the Erasmus + KA210-ADU.The goal of the ENABLERS4HOUSING small-scale partnership project is to develop new study materials for individuals and groups interested in participating in community developed and affordable housing projects. The initiative aims to react to the current housing- and energy-crisis, especially impacting the central- and southeastern-european regions. Our goal is to collect and strengthen the knowledge and experiences the organizations have amassed over the years. Based on these, we can create various study materials, which will help us support other grass-roots housing projects in Hungary.