Coldefy-led Team Wins Competition to Redevelop Budapest Brownfield into Ecological Urban District

A consortium headed by French architecture firm Coldefy has been selected as the winner of a competition to create a masterplan for the Rákosrendező area in Budapest. The team includes CITYFÖRSTER, Sporaarchitects, TREIBHAUS.LAND, and Marko & Placemakers. The Budapest Capital Asset Management Centre, representing the city's municipal government, is overseeing the initiative. The proposal outlines a 15-year transformation of a former industrial zone on Budapest's eastern side, often referred to as the city's rust belt. The comprehensive redevelopment strategy will introduce more than 10,000 housing units, new transportation connections, and various commercial and civic facilities, adhering to the concept of a 15-minute city. A central focus is on ecological restoration and landscape connectivity, featuring a 15-hectare Forest Park linked via linear green spaces. The plan calls for renaturalizing the Rákos Stream into a winding watercourse with publicly accessible terraces, walkways, and seating areas along its banks. These green spaces are designed to foster community activity across six distinct sub-districts, each with a unique identity and connected by a continuous loop of public areas. Each neighborhood will have its own central hub, mirroring the organizational pattern of Budapest's historic core. The Forest Park connects to a proposed Railway Park, which will include meadows, a central lake, and venues for events. The existing Rákosrendező railway station will be redesigned as a multimodal transportation center, linking to an expanded metro line, a new tram route, and pathways for walking and cycling. This hub aims to integrate the eastern and western sections of the site and connect the area to regional and long-distance transit networks. A strong emphasis on public transit is intended to minimize car dependency, promoting pedestrian-friendly residential streets and squares. The proposal also involves repurposing old railway structures into a cultural center housing a public library and a railway museum. A new plaza in front of the station will serve as a year-round civic space for markets, events, and gatherings, featuring trees, water features, and shaded zones. The urban core will transition into mid- and low-rise residential zones surrounded by vegetated areas on both sides of the railway. Adjacent areas will accommodate a dense mix of offices, hotels, retail, and services. Beyond the Rákos Stream, the plan reconfigures a fragmented landscape into a sports and recreation area with outdoor fields, facilities, and an additional metro station. The competition jury praised the proposal for creating a livable residential environment and an exceptional public space network. The announcement was made on April 3, 2026.