The Hungarian Cube. Modernity and Dwelling in the Kádár Era

The fundamental idea of the exhibition is to explore a familiar, almost everyday architectural phenomenon, the characteristic Hungarian “cube house” (a house with a hip roof, the so-called Kádár cube) as an expression of architectural modernization. The family house of the 1960s and 70s still defines the appearance of Hungarian rural settlements to this day. This much-maligned stepchild of post-war Hungarian socialist architecture turned out to be one of the most enduring architectural forms of the last century. The cube house is the twin sibling of the prefab panel blocks, and the two distinctive characters in socialist housing construction are inconceivable without each other. Regardless of our relationship with the cube house, it is part of our built cultural heritage.

The exhibition aims to showcase the cultural context and genealogy of one of the defining architectural forms of 20th-century Hungary. As a medium for private, self-built construction and an architectural manifestation of modernization, the cube house was a spontaneous response of vernacular architecture to the societal demands for housing. Over a span of approximately two decades – from the late 1950s to the late 1970s – the typology of rural Hungarian houses remained a significant local and influential factor in our region until the dominance of the next house type (Alpine house) emerged. Within the general framework of the hip-roofed cube house, the project examines the ornamentation of facades of rural houses in Hungary as a unique semantic study of a pre-urban post-folklore aesthetic. The exhibition aims to present the origin, development, and impact of this house type in the history of Hungarian visual culture through various artistic media and immersive installations.

Curator: KÉSZMAN József

Assistant-curator: MAJ Ajna, MÁTÉ Zsófia

Exhibiting Artists
ASZTALOS Zsolt, BIRKÁS Ákos, BME Építész Szakkollégium (KUSTRA Vencel, RÉVÉSZ Tamás, PARAGI András) és SZEDERKÉNYI Lukács (au műhely), BUKTA Imre, CSIZIK Balázs, CSONDOR Réka, FEHÉR László, GERHES Gábor, HÉZSŐ Ferenc, KERESZTESI Botond, KIRÁLY András, Magyar Malter, MERÉNYI Dávid, NEMES Csaba, Oláh Mara OMARA, RAJK László, Katharina ROTERS, SCHMIED Andi, SIBITKA Anna, SZOLNOKI József, SZÖLLŐSI Géza, tekerd! csoport

Lending Institutions, Galleries and Collections
Magyar Fotográfiai Múzeum; Sárospataki Képtár; Szépművészeti Múzeum – Magyar Nemzeti Galéria; Birkás Ákos Művészeti Alapítvány; Einspach Fine Art & Photography; Longtermhandstand; Molnár Ani Galéria; Vintage Galéria; Borsó és Kacsa magángyűjtemény, Budapest; Everybody Needs Art, magángyűjtemény, Budapest; Oliver Hont Collection, Athens/Budapest; private collection