FIABCI, an international organization of real estate developers, recognized the outstanding architectural achievements of Budapest’s District IX, and awarded Ferencváros the Prix d’Excellence prize in the Master Plan category for its regeneration program. The local government of Ferencváros has been implementing a comprehensive and complex detailed development plan for urban renovation since 1992. The mayor of the district was a guest at the 2016 awards, and no wonder why the district takes pride in this success; Ferencváros’s regeneration plan could not have received a more prestigious prize.

The local government of Budapest’s District IX earned an international urban-renewal award, after the municipality of District IX initiated the tender by assembling all architectural achievements carried out in the district so far, such as those concerning the renovations of old buildings, and many important new establishments like the Millenium Városközpont, the Palace of Arts, Budapest Music Center, Bálna Budapest, Corvinus University, MTA’s new building, the Holocaust Memorial, Concerto Music House, Trafó, the local football stadium and museum, the National Theater, and the Attila József Memorial, as well as the soon-to-be-established Telekom headquarters. A video was also recorded to support the tender and present the details of the developments.

The judges appreciated the intention of preserving the values and heritages of historic Ferencváros, rather than creating a brand-new cityscape. The rehabilitation’s social support is outstanding, as well as the fact that they not only restructured the buildings, but created new, spacious green oases and inner gardens in the enclosed, narrow blocks, and in place of the concrete-jungle parking lots.

The success of the Ferencváros renovations is not new; a new eco-friendly 100-flat building, found on Jász Street in District XIII, also received a silver medal earlier. The heating needs of the flats are considerably lower compared to the typical residential structures of Budapest. The flats are gathered in three building blocks – designed by Ybl-awarded architect Csaba Nagy – and are surrounded by grand green areas.

FIABCI Prix d’Excellence is an international award competition that has been organized since 1992, rewarding the world’s best property developments. FIABCI was founded in 1951; their headquarters is in Paris, but they are present in more than 60 countries worldwide, employing thousands of prominent property managers, and operating a global real estate network.

Since 1997, Hungarian entries, such as Ferencváros, have won numerous prizes, but this is the first time that a local project won World Gold Winner title in the “Master Plan” category.