In this year, voting process of Media Prize for Architecture was changed. We wanted to spin more professional strands into the procedure of the selection, so the idea of pre selection jury was born, whose members now will be introduced to our readers.

Green architecture in the UK is in its infancy. Although more advanced throughout Europe, the UK has yet to catch up. In order to raise awareness of the options available in relation to green architecture, renewable energy sources and the importance of energy efficiency – organisations and associations must collaborate across industry to provide and educate.

The Ot Elem Kft. was assigned with a reconstruction of a town house built at the end of the 19th century. In the course of the transformation apartments was set in the attic. Like as many civic house in the city, the ample apartments on the floors was broken up to little rooms and places after the World War II, and now the archtitects tried to restore the original spatial system. Ákos Dobrányi and his fellow workers achieved a reconstruction of high quality and added a little flavour to this: they put interesting kitchen-capsules to the two-storey high space of the apartments of the second floor.

In the graduate design of Ákos Balogh, the vision of the Podmaniczky Cultural Quarter was born in order to strenghten the traditions and the indentity of the people who live there. The concept is based on the remained historical heritage of Rákoskeresztúr, which settlement is part of the 17th District of Budapest. The central element of the design is the demolished New World Art Cinema, which will be reborn in modern form by the ideas of the graduating student.

When an abandoned house doesn't call the developer to pull it down; when the conjunction of fantasy, knowledge and accurate work of designers, developers and constructors give chance for the birth of something else, something true and appropriate only on that special place; when the always transient present lurks in between past and future; then we might talk about the essence. Namely, what we should do and how we should handle our perishing heritage. In so far, this mix-used, plucky black house in Graz designed by Bernd Steinhuber and Martin Lesjak stimulated a discourse into such direction in its own environment.

Sometimes we need to stop and think of what for this huge effort, for whom, why and how do we build? Frans Jeursen Dutch phylosopher, Medievalist and art critic is explicitly searching new ways after post-modernism. He has a far-reaching and deep knowledge,  and a personal library with several thousands of volumes in Amsterdam. He hes been working on his book about historical consciousness since years, but now we asked him to write about architecture. In this text Frans tries to apprehend the essence of architecture through the threads and splits of an exciting fabric of conceptions. The text is not easily readable however it isn't addressed to those who fail after 4000 characters or rush furher.

The modest and pure design is consonant with the simple mechanism of passive solar system employed in this single family house at the outskirt of Nagoya.

1st International Conference of the Department of Urban Planning and Design and the Foundation for Urban Architecture.  Wednesday November 24th, 2010

With the title: APPROACHES TO MODERNITY a conference will be held at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics on 8th October 2010. The organizers Centro de Estudos Arnaldo Araújo, Escola Superior Artística do Porto and Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department for History of Architecture and of Monuments welcome everybody there.

In relation with the opening ceremony of the Hungarian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2010, Peter Magyar writes about not only the installation ofthe two young architects, Andor Wesselenyi-Garay and Marcel Ferenc, but on the vivid and strong connections between architecture-line-music-science.

Hungarian architects Zsanett Benedek along with Daniel Lakos of Tervhivatal have created an office in Budapest in the loft of the former textile factory named Goldberger by white building boxes.

Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham are possibly the only globally famous contemporary architects whose work is so little known. Judit Várhelyi made an interview with Astrid Klein, one of the founders of Klein Dytham Architecs.

We can sit on them, they are luminous in the evenings, and -daringly enough- they are made out of glass. The works of glass sculptor András Bojti are placed in the city center of Budapest, at the end of a new 2 km long pedestrian mall. A story of a successful co-operation.

What can we learn from bamboo construction? András Bojti's thoughts over bamboo, life and universe.

Fuglsang Kunstmuseum is a purpose built regional art museum designed by Tony Fretton Architects to house the Storstrøm Art Museum’s permanent collection of Danish fine art dating from the period 1780-1980.