Ozd in a town in northern Hungary which has been inhabited from ancient times. The modern city came into being with the unification of the towns Ózd, Bolyok and Sajóvárkonyduring the socialist era of Hungary, when the northern part of the country was developed into a center of heavy industry.

After the socialist system has fallen and industry ceased to be the first priority of the country, Ozd started to slowly regress.

Nowadays, the town has fortune of many former factory buildings which can be given a new function, and Ozd is hence starting to develop a rehabilitation project which aims to fructify the built environment.

Architect: Roxana Puris

Location: Hungary

Status: Concept

The building used to be a cooler tank for the nearby factories, so it has a very specific shape and materials. It was build out of reinforced concrete and it has three chimneys for the air evacuation.

The trigger for the whole concept was the visit on the site. When you get there, you see a weird shaped building with no visible entrance, which is all covered surrounded by weeds and plants. The moment when you find the direct entrance to the chimneys place feels like a break into another universe. There’s a place where the time has stopped, there’s no outside world anymore and all you can see is the sky.

This experience has a huge impact on the design of the restaurant inside the building. The main goals were to keep the beautiful view inside the chimneys and to make it visible also on the lower floors. On the outside, the most important feature being the reinforced concrete chimneys, the aim was to emphasize them. In order to do this, the building has been covered in a wooden structure which matches with the whole appearance.

Construction – Material, Availability, Economy:

The building being in a very good condition from the beginning, which leads to a major economical advantage.

The materials that would be used for the rehabilitation are brought to site from local suppliers, more specific from wooden factories nearby. Steel, glass and furniture are bought from suppliers from other areas of the country or manufactured by local artisans.

Roxana Puris

Roxana Puris is a Romanian architecture student which loves traveling and acknowledging information about culture and architecture from all over the world, which she further applies in her projects. She believes architecture is mainly for people and for their needs, and she values the various personalities and traditions that people have. Pursuing the Architecture school and also being a creative mind, she believes that in order to become an architect one must blend their whole personality in it. Thus, all the projects she designs are a mix of context of the place, natural environment, and her personal background and beliefs.