János Klaniczay was one of the Hungarian architects who “took over” the headquarters of the Lisbon Architecture Triennale, the Palácio Sinel de Cordes, for a “Takeover”. János is part of KÉK – the Hungarian Contemporary Architecture Center, an independent organization that travelled from Budapest to Lisbon for three days to get Lisbon residents to contemplate a concept they have been working on: “sustainable tourism”.
Sustainable tourism? A form of tourism that escapes the often overcrowded major centers and seeks the stories of those who live or have lived in the everyday neighbourhoods of a city.
That was precisely the idea that KÉK brought to Lisbon, where the work began with a walking tour through less touristy places in Alfama, using a map created by local architecture studios.
They didn’t stop there. Following the tour, there was an exhibition of photographs featuring doors from Lisbon and Budapest (after all, every door holds a story), a movie night featuring the film Silêncio – Vozes de Lisboa (Silence – Voices of Lisbon) directed by Hungarian Judith Kalmar and featuring fado singer Marta Miranda, a workshop, a Pecha Kucha (a presentation format), and even an international food exchange.
At the end of these days, János still found time for a conversation with Mensagem about sustainable tourism, cities, architecture, and heritage.
Tell me about KÉK and its main projects…
We are a non-governmental organization founded in 2006 by a group of young architects, sociologists, artists, and educators who aimed to fill a void in the Central European region regarding discourse on contemporary architecture and construction. Currently, we are the oldest independent non-governmental organization in Central Europe working towards this goal.
Our area of intervention ranges from educational projects to heritage management, tourism projects, and even the creation of community gardens. We were the pioneers in implementing community gardening in Budapest 10 to 15 years ago.
We have various community-related projects. We work with children from elementary to high school, creating walking tours within their neighbourhoods. We also have a program where we celebrate houses that are 100 years old, inviting their residents to get involved. Of course, we have programs geared towards professionals, as well as for laypeople and those who don’t yet understand much about architecture. We also engage in international projects focused on industrial heritage and regional development.
We organize an architecture film festival, the largest in our region, currently in its 16th edition. At the moment, we are expanding our horizons and developing housing projects in partnership with the central municipality of Budapest. We are partners in the “AHA” project, which aims at affordable housing for everyone, and we are transforming an old building into housing, working with the community to make them aware of the building and understand its value.
How did the idea of walking tours for locals, which ultimately serves as a base for “sustainable tourism,” come about?
When I started working, I focused on walking tours for locals to understand how they could explore their neighbourhoods. One of my first tours was in a neighbourhood I knew well: my high school was in that area, and I was living there when I was a student. It’s a historical part between Buda Castle and the river, an area with a lot of contemporary architecture but very relaxed and respectful of the historical environment. Since then, we have done tours related to movies, celebrating 150 years of Budapest, connected to each decade of architecture.
Who usually attends these tours?
There are three types of people who usually go: architects, architecture enthusiasts, and retirees. Many people also approach us for customized tours: schools, conferences, companies for team-building events, and gatherings. We are by no means the largest local tour company in Budapest. There are more than 12 tour companies, and we even have a Hungarian tour society.
Do the locals know Budapest well?
Oh, not at all! And maybe there’s no problem with that; we can’t expect everyone to be urban or architectural historians of the city. But some things should be obvious to people… For example, in Budapest, there’s a significant problem: at the moment, buildings from the 1970s that are part of the heritage are at risk because nobody values them. When important buildings are destroyed, people don’t care. There are palaces from the early 20th century, destroyed in World War II, being rebuilt in reinforced concrete! In reinforced concrete! There needs to be some education and some engagement with the city.
So, it’s important for us to know our cities…
It’s important because, if we know the city, we will maintain it better. There are two aspects here: we will keep it better, and we will take better care of it. If there is any unwanted change in the city, knowing it better allows citizens to come together and organize initiatives based on their love for the city.
I believe the way we connect with a city involves both architecture and history, although the most significant aspect of history is oral history. Architecture corresponds to the physical part. In our projects and walking tours, we try to explore local identities and stories. It’s not just about the building’s architecture but also the oral history of those who lived there: a famous person who resided there, a murder case that happened there – all of this makes the experience more interesting.
Today, I was walking in Alfama and saw the faces of Fado singers on the walls, which is very interesting because it’s a local story that is visible. The description was in Portuguese, which makes sense, but of course, it could and should also be translated into English.
I think it’s also important for us to know our city, not only to maintain it better but because tourism has this problem: it concentrates on certain places and then destroys some areas. But, in reality, when tourists travel, they seek authentic places lived by locals. I am conducting a research in urban planning and design, and international studies show that if you want to combat overtourism, you have to spread tourists out. You won’t stop tourism but rather distribute it so that tourism can benefit those areas.
Tourism has immense benefits, such as valorizing previously neglected areas. For example, in Budapest, there was an area with nothing, and now it’s full of artistic cafes, mostly frequented by locals, and it’s beginning to appear on tourist maps because it’s an authentic zone. Of course, with tourists coming to that area, it will change, but cities are made of changes.
Would this strategy work in Lisbon?
Lisbon is very similar to Budapest. By making Lisbon’s tourist areas less overcrowded, it would be possible to see the benefits of tourism. Tourism helps the local economy and small businesses, encouraging positive changes. If we have mass tourism, we make the city uninhabitable, and the more neglected areas do not benefit from it; it becomes a polarized phenomenon.
To preserve local stories, you need to maintain initiatives and local communities, and tourism also plays an important role in this because of the methodologies developed to understand how to discover a city. Locals should also explore the city as tourists. That’s what we do.
Even now during the Takeover, we focused on the locals. We created this map with recommendations from local architects. We held a photo exhibition, and each photo has its own stories. These are stories only revealed by locals, and tourists won’t know them.
We also presented a film about the Fado of Alfama, and it was interesting to see how this culture is being dominated by tourists. The Fado culture is starting to fade and integrate into the tourism industry, but we ended up going to a traditional Fado house. It was very good… but we enjoyed watching the film more because it had subtitles, and the lyrics of Fado are so important.
We had a gastronomic exchange with Hungarian, Portuguese, Slovak, and American food. It was a very interesting experience where the community got involved, and we realized that tourists can also contribute to local culture. And it was inevitable for us not to be tourists these days. We didn’t come here pretending to be experts who knew how to explore the neighbourhood. We showed how we explore our neighbourhoods and how to use our methodologies in Lisbon.
Now, in response to the question, of course, these ideas won’t solve all the problems. Tourists also need to be sustainable, and, of course, there should be housing policies to fight against gentrification.
How do they compare: Lisbon and Budapest?
Alfama alone is a magical place, the historic part. Budapest, well, historically, it’s different because a large part was bombed. The ruins have ruins, and everything is reconstructed. Of course, there are some similarities with Lisbon: the central streets with globalized brand shops… we have our neighbourhoods too. The morphology is different, of course. With the geography of the hills, Lisbon ends up having a different vibe. In Budapest, most tourist attractions, services, and bars are on the Pest side, which is very flat. I think what is similar is, of course, tourism: tourists always look for the major attractions, and only then for local experiences. Hence, local initiatives are essential: you can’t find authentic places without a local guide.
What are the main challenges of Budapest?
One of the main challenges is traffic, which is still very car-oriented. The suburban railway network is not well-developed, nor is the metro. 90% of people use their cars, bringing them into the city center. This issue needs improvement from an educational standpoint but also requires policies to control traffic.
Another challenge is maintaining the buildings because many are in poor condition. And then, of course, housing. In Budapest, we have similar problems to Lisbon; there is a shortage of houses. I would have to work for 30 years and not spend anything to be able to buy my 30-square-meter apartment. For renting, I have to give more than 50% of my salary – which is the United Nations’ definition of a housing crisis. Preserving heritage is also a problem, and it seems to me that you are doing a good job.
Ana da Cunha
Nasceu no Porto, há 28 anos, mas desde 2019 que faz do Alfa Pendular a sua casa. Em Lisboa, descobriu o amor às histórias, ouvindo-as e contando-as na Avenida de Berna, na Universidade Nova de Lisboa.
✉ ana.cunha@amensagem.pt
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