Abstract
The architecture of Northern Hungary was significantly shaped in the post-World War II period by the design work of the Northern Hungarian Design Company (ÉSZAKTERV). The region’s center was Miskolc, which the political leadership sought to develop into the country’s second most important city during the era of state socialism. They sought to achieve this goal partly by building on existing economic potential and partly through ideologically motivated industrial development. All of this placed a significant burden on ÉSZAKTERV, which, even by the standards of a regional planning firm, sought to respond to the new challenges of the era with numerous innovative architectural and engineering solutions and experiments. A broader analysis and processing of these has not yet taken place.
Research into the history of ÉSZAKTERV is complicated by the fact that, following the design firm’s dissolution, its design archives and documents were not transferred to archival management. Sources related to the firm’s history can only be found sporadically in public collections. This explains why the research began with interviews conducted with former ÉSZAKTERV employees, which led to the discovery of numerous company-related publications that had previously been in private hands.
A research project is underway on ÉSZAKTERV, in which the company’s architectural and urban planning activities are being surveyed, categorized, and systematized based on its corporate publications. This publication presents the findings of a study that reveals how a design firm operating under state socialism and its leadership defined their own professional and architectural priorities.