Only a product or maybe something more?

Few years ago abroad a renown architect who left Hungary through no fault of his own guided me by car around the city which was his new home and showed me his realized buildings. I could enviously see that any direction we were turning, he could always show me a building having more storeys designed by him. I politely expressed my approval, congratulated him and I was also envious a bit, for how good it can be to see the result of more decades of work in a few hours. We were already at the umpteenth building when I could notice that my host did not really appreciate his own work, he was rather saying "Can you see that invective there? - I designed it", and "What do you think about that twenty-storied grey monster? - That is also my work." At last I could breathe freely again, because in my eye it wasn't the first building, about which I had that opinion inside. I also became immediately curious to know the reason of the sincerity. Simple: "This is not my motherland. When I got here several decades ago, I thought that it was only a few years and we could go home. Till then for the people here it's almost the same what I design, just buy and take." I was surprised, it was true. Then we still watched one or two successful buildings and at last we also went to a new residential park under construction which was decorated with flags. The designer had prepared me in advance not to get frightened, smiling pretty ladies with balloons in their hands would sell the flats existing only on design sheets, there would be soft music and they would speak highly of the whole plan. He told me to accept every leaflet they put in my hands, but not to believe that these buildings were good, because if I took a better look at the maquette of the residential park, I could realise that only every third house was included on it. The others were signed as well, but only the ground-plan, to be more saleable.

I had thought it was a sole trick, until a booklet fell into my hands, also written in a foreign language, which prepared the untalented contractor how to sell a used flat 20-30 % over its real value ameliorated by a few plants, a new curtain, and some small courtesies. Because also the flat is only a product which is sold and bought and its saleability depends on whether we can ameliorate it a bit according to the customer's pleasure. In this sense it is better to say that the flat is a secondary product, as it is only one of the secondary products of money circulation, prepared according to the fashion of the era, for the reason that people snap it up soon. It is not by chance that on the houses built today maybe it is considered less important to mention the designer's name. What a friendly feeling it is however to pass sometimes by some houses built in the beginning of the last century, and on the façade of them it is written e.g. "Designed by Erno Román, architect".

Nowadays flats are being built in a large number - in most cases without knowing and considering man's living claims, and they are being sold with refined selling techniques, the business is successful.

Unfortunately the quality of even the newly-built flats does not meet those up-to-date requirements, which on this more developed part of the world leaving the 20th century behind us could be expected. The decision of the architect today however will have an effect on the whole century commenced now. It is decided today whether in thirty-fifty years we will have to have our minds bent on renovations of that extent as today the destiny of the panel buildings produced in the sixties and the seventies seems almost unsolvable. They won't collapse, but who will change the windows, renovate the heating, put the staircase in order, and which is most important, turn the whole living environment into human? It depends on our decision today how much the country will have to spend on heating after thirty-fifty years, and thus will we have to argue then about what type of a power station to build?

In fact however it is even more in question here.

A flat is not just for us to sleep in it, to keep the cold beer in it, to protect us from rain, snow and wind storm. It also creates an atmosphere, a home, an area for family life where it is worth going home, which is convenient for raising children, which makes a life of full value possible. To have an area to stay in during daytime is necessary for the family to stick together, it is necessary to have bedrooms, a study, it is necessary to have a well-functioning, bright kitchen, where the lady of the house can prepare for the meals (not for nutrition!). Storage should be solved; there have to be machines which have to be operated too. Every flat needs to have some contact with nature; also the hobbies of the people have their space demand too. For a life of full value several elements are needed, some of which in many cases are very hard to realise, considering the wider environment surrounding our flat. Namely a good flat can only be built at a good place, but even a good place may not only come about, but it can also be created by looking ahead.

Today already ten thousands of flats are being built in Hungary. For looking in the future calmly however, it is necessary, that as our lives, these buildings should also be planned correctly, in a way, that not only temporary interests, but also the far future should be calculated. Then also the architectural magazines won't be able to deal only with that second of time, when the house is finished, but will also be able to follow with colourful, whole-page pictures the further destiny of the building, which determines much more our whole lives.