Rákosrendező Masterplan competition in Budapest

• Architects

An international, multidisciplinary team led by French architecture practice Coldefy has won a major competition to design the masterplan for Rákosrendező in Budapest for Budapest Capital Asset Management Centre, acting on behalf of the Municipality of Budapest. Over the next fifteen years, the scheme will transform an underutilised brownfield into a new, liveable green part of the city.

Located on the Pest (east) side of the Hungarian capital, northeast of its urban centre, the site has long been regarded as the city’s ‘rust belt’. The Rákosrendező Masterplan will see the area remodelled into a mixed-use, landscape-led community consisting of over 10,000 apartments, enhanced transportation links, commercial and civic space, creating a comprehensive urban redevelopment adhering to the 15-minute city principles. The jury described the winning proposal as a “strong, distinctive urban architectural vision,” highlighting its proposal for “a liveable residential environment” and “the exceptional quality of its public space system.”

The design provides a legible, people-centred urban solution that prioritises landscape and ecological continuity. It will activate public life across six sub-districts, each with their own character, anchored by a local urban centre, akin to the neighbourhoods in Budapest’s historic inner city.

The existing Rákosrendező railway station will undergo a transformation into a multimodal hub that anchors the masterplan’s central urban sub-district, and provide connections with an extended underground metro line, a new tram line and with a network of active travel infrastructure. The surrounding area will comprise a high-density mix of offices, hotels, retail outlets and services surrounding it. The station itself will stitch the east and west sides of the district together, while centring this location within Budapest’s regional and long-distance transit network.

At the front of the station, a new plaza will operate as a year-round civic space for markets, cultural events and public gatherings, featuring a mix of trees, water features and shaded areas. It will also serve as a gateway to this district, providing it with a new, recognisable identity while carefully blending it with the existing landscape. This dense urban core will gradually transition into mid- and low-rise residential area set with a new network of green spaces on either side of the railway. Strong presence of public transit will allow the creation of largely car-free residential streets and squares, countering the dominant pattern of car-centric development.

Connection to nature is central to the masterplan, including a combination of blue infrastructure (water-based networks) and green infrastructure (natural spaces). A core part of this is the 15-hectare Forest Park, which will be connected to the area through linear parks and the re-naturalised Rákos Stream, which will serve as a pleasant, meandering waterway. Ample public space on its reshaped banks will form a network of accessible terraces, paths and rest spots, all with access to this waterside habitat. A new Railway Park will be linked to the Forest Park across the railway line will to form a substantial green asset for northern Pest. It will have a mix of meadows, event spaces and a central lake. Beyond the Rákos Stream, a fragmented landscape will be remodelled into an accessible sports area with outdoor fields and recreational facilities and another new metro station.

The proposal also includes reusing former railway buildings and depots as a new cultural centre, which will also include a new municipal library and a railway museum. A continuous loop of public spaces will frame and permeate the district, connecting neighbourhoods and cultural amenities and opening toward adjacent areas, integrating the scheme into a coherent urban fabric.