Two KÉK walks through Újbuda’s modern heritage

KÉK — Kortárs Építészeti Központ, the Contemporary Architecture Centre — has worked on Bartók Béla út in Budapest for ten years, and runs the KÉK Városi Séták programme of city walks on architecture and urban development. This year it takes part in the Bartók Feszt’ with two walks, both on the same Saturday: one on the quarter’s less familiar modern heritage, the other on the directions the neighbourhood has taken over the past twenty years.

Playful modernism in Újbuda — 10:00 to 12:00

Led by the architect János Klaniczay, KÉK’s professional curator. Shifted rhythms, inventive use of materials, play of shadow, ice-cream colours: the apartment blocks put up in the 1960s around Fehérvári út and Október huszonharmadika út are a good illustration of the playful face of post-war modernism. Go in through the right doors, KÉK writes, and there is even a wrapped brutalist pyramid to be found.

Discover the Bartók quarter — 16:00 to 18:00

Led by the architect Bálint Köves, KÉK’s professional curator. The name Bartók-negyed is still relatively new, but the deliberate shaping of Újbuda’s cultural centre has been under way for almost twenty years. The walk covers how Bartók Béla út and its surroundings were transformed over recent decades, visits several emblematic sites, and asks openly what would make this part of the city better.

Practical details

• When: Saturday 29 August 2026, 10:00–12:00 and 16:00–18:00
• Where: Újbuda, Budapest — the morning route runs around Fehérvári út and Október huszonharmadika út, the afternoon route through the Bartók-negyed
• Price: free, but taking part requires prior online registration through Tixa
• Organiser of the walks: KÉK — Kortárs Építészeti Központ
• Organiser of the festival: the Bartók Feszt’ is put on by the Újbuda local authority and KözPont Újbudai Kulturális Nonprofit Kft.; all festival programmes are free
• Note: the organisers reserve the right to change the programme, and photographs and sound recordings are made at the event

Registration and full details are on KÉK’s own site. Cultural Heritage Online lists these walks for readers planning a trip to Budapest; registration is handled directly by the organiser.