Demo hub – AHA Budapest

The AHA’s pilot project (Demo Hub) is a former vocational school for the leather processing industry in one of the worst-maintained buildings in the Baross Street area of Újpest. Built in the seventies, the school has been vacant since 2007, when its owner, the Municipality of Budapest, advertised it for sale or rent for a long time, during which time the abandoned building has deteriorated.

Thanks to the work of the consortium partners, the old school will be transformed into a new, modern, low-energy and, last but not least, attractive residential building, which will be ready to house twenty-six families living in difficult circumstances in 2026. This demonstration site in Újpest will serve as an example for the redevelopment of 15 other disused public buildings owned by the capital. Despite its abandonment, the building has a good potential: it is not just a place for one type of lifestyle or family type. There will be garçons, two-bedroom apartments, accessible homes and two apartments larger than 100 square metres for large families. The basic structure of the building will remain basically unchanged, with the long corridors in front of the former classrooms, the original lobby and the large hall, which will be used as a community space. A concept plan for the renovation was approved by the City of Budapest in May, the design will be completed by November and an open EU public tender will be launched. If all goes according to plan, a winner will be announced next May, and from then on the renovation will take more than a year, with the first families moving in during the summer or autumn of 2026.