Building or Text?

In pursuit of architectural utopias from the City of the Sun to the Capital

Budapest Gallery

1036 Budapest, Lajos utca 158.

18 August – 23 October 2023

Creator:

Zsófia Szántay

Curator:

Sulyok Miklós

Opening:

17 August 2023 (Thursday), 6 pm

Opening speech by:

Deodáth Zuh

philosopher

Music performance:

Péter Mátrai

Architects, studios:

Archikon, LAB5, Finta Stúdió, Minusplus, Kinzo, Földes és Társai Architects, János Mónus, ÖKO-BAU, Geum Studio, MádiLáncos Studio, M-Teampannon, Kollektiv Studio, Géza Lakatos, Ernő Tillai

Contributors:

Botond Burus (graphics), Gyöngyi Barta (music), Júlia Tudisco (film), Ferenc Haász (lighting), Zoltán Nagy (bookbinding), László Dr. Francsics (diagram sculptures), Gyöngyi Barta, Bálint Kiss, Kristóf Kovács and Krisztina Somogyi (music-installation sounds)

Architectural photographers:

Zsolt Batár, György Palkó, Bálint Jaksa, Tamás Szántó, Adi Bulboaca, László Dr. Francsics, HG Esch

What is utopia and how can it be good? What do literary utopias teach us? What questions are still relevant today? How does utopia affect architecture and can it be found in contemporary architecture design in Hungary? Is utopia Building or Text?

The exhibition Building or Text? summarizes the 10-year research of Zsófia Szántay DLA /Nautes Architects/, which explores the relationship between utopia and architecture. The aim of the exhibition is to present utopia as a positive phenomenon on the border between literature and architecture. In this context, utopia is a latent driver of contemporary architectural design and experimentation, as well as a possible basis for interpreting the built space around us.

We invite visitors to this journey, to explore between questions at the root of our existence and current design choices. The exhibition not only explores architectural and literary themes, but also incorporates visual art, photography, music and animation, appealing to a wider audience – architects, residents, writers and readers.