NTDK50

Please note, that the event is in Hungarian.

In 1976, Dr László Szabó and his colleagues established a student group at the former Ybl Miklós College that continues to operate to this day: the Scientific Students’ Association for Vernacular Architecture (NTDK). This year, the Association celebrates its 50th anniversary. Through its annual summer survey camps, the group provides architecture students with the opportunity to research and document the rural built heritage of the Carpathian Basin.

Over the past 50 years, the Association has not only produced a substantial body of survey documentation, which later became part of various collections, but has also contributed to raising awareness of the architectural heritage of local communities. Research and hands-on field surveys also serve an important educational purpose: the sense of community, practical field experience and the practice of hand drawing have played — and continue to play — an important role in shaping architecture students’ professional outlook and passing on traditional approaches to architecture.

The study of vernacular architecture is therefore not merely a matter of heritage conservation, but has also become an effective, experience-based method of architectural education, helping students develop a strong professional identity and a sense of responsibility towards cultural heritage. Over the 50 years of the NTDK’s existence, generations of architects have entered professional life, achieved outstanding results and contributed to the development of their communities. Today, alongside its long-established survey camps, the NTDK is also bringing this body of cultural knowledge to digital platforms and complementing its work with contemporary surveying and documentation technologies. We would like to celebrate these achievements and the 50th anniversary of this professional community, while also sharing its accumulated knowledge and experience at a professional conference.

The morning session of the conference will introduce the NTDK and the Ybl Faculty, followed by presentations exploring the period in which the Association was founded and its influence both within Hungary and beyond its borders. Throughout the day, former and current NTDK students who have carried out outstanding work will present their activities and offer an insight into the Association’s future-oriented initiatives. The presentations will conclude with a professional round-table discussion.

No celebration would be complete without music and dance: in the evening, the conference will continue with a traditional Hungarian dance house. The event will be accompanied by an exhibition of 50 posters presenting the 50-year history of the NTDK.

Cover image: ÓE-YBL NTDK

Organisers: Hungarian Academy of Arts; ÓE-YBL Scientific Students’ Association for Vernacular Architecture