Imagine a 6,700-square-metre “village in the city” where every floor hums with the energy of theatre rehearsals, yoga classes, and NGO strategy meetings. This is the Jurányi Art Incubator House, a century-old former school that has become the beating heart of Budapest’s Margit Quarter. When it opened in 2012, Jurányi was the first major pioneer in the area, pre-dating the district’s official urban regeneration programme that has since transformed a neighbourhood of empty shopfronts into a thriving cultural artery.
The complex is managed by FÜGE (Independently for Each Other), an umbrella organisation providing a permanent sanctuary for over 60 independent performing arts groups. This ethos of “operating independently together” has now reached the rooftop through a pioneering community energy project. By partnering with MTVSZ (The National Society of Conservationists – Friends of the Earth Hungary) and KESZ (Community Energy Service Provider) to install 132 solar panels, Jurányi is proving that bottom-up cultural hubs can achieve high level artistic and energy independence.
In the following interview, Viktória Kulcsár, the visionary founder of FÜGE and Jurányi, and Ágnes Szalkai-Lőrincz, community energy expert at MTVSZ, discuss how FÜGE transformed an empty school into a sustainable creative engine and how the building’s new energy model is redefining the future of urban communities.
Can you tell us about the Jurányi Art Incubator House?
Viktória Kulcsár: Jurányi was established by the association Függetlenül Egymásért (Independently for Each Other), which I founded in 2006. The name itself is quite telling and serves as our motto: that we operate independently yet together as a shared civil organisation.
We primarily support the performing arts sector—specifically independent theatre and dance companies that operate without institutional oversight, a permanent venue, or direct municipal and ministry funding. Our support is mainly focused on management and infrastructure; FÜGE has essentially functioned as an umbrella organisation and production office from its inception.
The “Performing Arts Law,” which took effect in 2009, placed a significant administrative burden on this sector. Consequently, our role in supporting creators became increasingly vital—handling applications and contracts so they could focus entirely on their creative work.
Since 2010, we have continued this mission: we produce performances and co-productions, submit joint applications, seek out sponsors, and organise festivals. We also run our own development programmes—public calls where creators can apply, whether they are under 35 and starting their careers or developing high-quality theatre programmes for secondary schools.
Could you tell us about the building’s history and how you came to occupy such a vast space?
Viki Kulcsár: It is a very large building in the Margit Quarter, located on Jurányi Street. It belongs to the Budapest Municipality and used to function as a secondary school—actually, two different schools were based here—but it was closed in 2009 and had been standing empty when we found it.
It is 6,700 m² across four floors, and I was completely captivated by it. I love buildings—especially 100-year-old ones—and I kept getting lost in it, slowly falling in love with the idea that this could house our envisioned incubation function. I didn’t plan for it to be so big, but there was no smaller option available.
Location was essential—the building is right along the 4–6 tram line, which is the main artery of the city’s transport network—and since I imagined many visitors and audiences, it needed to be easy to reach. We participated in a call for proposals and our application was successful.
Then a huge renovation began. We renovated all summer and finally opened on 29 October 2012. We gave the house this name: production and community incubator house. It is quite long, but it expresses all the functions we saw from the start that such a complex and, at the time, unique structure had to fulfil.
Could you tell us about the organisations you host and the diverse range of activities on offer?
Viktória Kulcsár: As an incubator, we now host more than 60 organisations—and not only performing artists; visual artists and other civil organisations have also found a home here. It spread by word of mouth: we started with 15 founding groups, and as everyone brought someone else along, it created the current profile of the House.
Fortunately, our residents tend to stay; this is not like a corporate incubator where companies move on after a year. We strive to provide long-term infrastructural security so they can create freely. To give you an idea of the scale, we have 27 offices, 16 rehearsal rooms, 15 studios, various showrooms, six storage rooms, three performance venues, and an art gallery within the café area.
We have transformed the former school spaces into something more homely. While everyone is free to arrange their own office or rehearsal room, we try to give the shared spaces a coherent identity.
I have already spoken about the “incubator” aspect of our long name, but the “production” and “community” elements are just as vital. Production refers to our primary work in the performing arts; after more than 10 years, we essentially function as a theatre. Community is also hugely important—not just for the 60 organisations forming a micro-community, but for the hundreds of people who visit daily for various reasons.
We operate much like the old general cultural centres where something was always happening on every floor. People often call us a “a playhouse in Buda”. When we opened, there wasn’t much cultural activity in the area, but the landscape has changed with various independent theatres and artistic centres active again.
Our audience is a community. We don’t want theatre to be a place where you simply dress up, watch a show, and go home. It is important that people feel at home here—whether they come for yoga, a child’s drawing workshop, an evening performance, or just a coffee at our bistro.
How do you navigate the financial challenges of being independent, and how does your approach to sustainability support the house?
Viktória Kulcsár: Financial sustainability is a primary focus for me, alongside the daily management of our community space. We operate without an institutional sponsor, we do not receive a fixed budget from the municipality or the ministry of culture; as a bottom-up civil organisation, we are entirely responsible for our own funding.
For us, sustainability has never been an afterthought or a constraint; it is a core mindset that has defined how the house functions from the very beginning.
To stay financially viable, we have championed the concept of re-use since day one. We equipped our theatre space entirely with donated chairs, platforms, lamps, and curtains. Companies donate second-hand furniture which we then breathe new life into, and we maintain a costume store to lend pieces to independent troupes. By reusing sets and materials, we keep costs low for everyone. These habits—alongside selective waste collection, composting, and switching to LED lighting—have been part of our DNA since the day we opened.
Could you tell us about the new energy community? How did the idea come about?
Viktória Kulcsár: A turning point came in 2022. Luckily, the Budapest Municipality’s asset manager—the body we rent from—renovated our entire roof. This was the vital first step. When Ági and her colleagues from MTVSZ (The National Society of Conservationists) approached us with a ministry grant—seeking model institutions to form the core of an energy community—we could finally say our roof was ready.
The goal was to install solar panels on this community space, which required a structurally sound roof as a prerequisite. Once we joined forces, the process truly began. It was a complex undertaking because no single grant covered all 130+ panels, so we had to seek additional funding.
We applied as a consortium: MTVSZ, our association FÜGE, and KESZ. We successfully pitched to MagNet Bank’s community donation programme, which allowed us to launch a major fundraising campaign.
Through this effort, we raised 6 million forints towards our 10 million forint goal, while several companies supported us by offering equipment at a significantly reduced cost. Finally, in November 2024, we installed 132 solar panels. It was a true community effort—volunteers, Jurányi staff, and even the district mayor helped carry the panels up to the roof.
How would you evaluate your first few months of operation since the solar installation?
Viktória Kulcsár: We have just completed our first summer, and while it is still early days for such a pioneering project, the initial results are very promising. Our annual consumption is around 100,000 kWh, and we have already managed to reduce that by approximately half. In August, our bills showed a nearly 50% reduction, followed by a 32% saving in September. We also managed to cut our peak-capacity reservation by roughly 50%, which makes a massive financial difference.
The logistics are complex because Jurányi is a massive consumer. We have a natural seasonal dynamic at play: during the summer, the house is less active while solar production is at its peak, leading to significant savings. In September, as our performance schedule ramps up and lighting hours increase, the savings naturally lower.
Furthermore, our 60 tenants do not have individual meters. We calculate everything based on floor area using a kind of honesty-based system where different multipliers are used depending on the equipment in the room. We don’t have smart meters in every space; that is part of the added value of a community house—we operate as a community. The long-term impact will become clearer as we collect more data, but this data will eventually allow us to see if we can invite more members into our energy community.
How aware are your residents that the building is now solar-powered, and has this shifted their energy habits?
Viktória Kulcsár: From the moment someone joins Jurányi—starting with their very first meeting—there is an expectation that they think twice before switching something on or leaving it running. This mindfulness is deeply embedded in our culture; we are constantly aware of when we truly need artificial lighting and when we don’t.
In the theatre world, our busiest hours are in the evening. Since the sun isn’t shining then, we naturally cannot rely on solar power for our core performances, so there are limits to how much we can shift our schedule to follow the sun.
As for awareness, our residents were an integral part of the entire journey. They were involved in the campaign, and many of them physically helped carry the solar panels up to the roof.
Financially, our model is based on a “shared-cost contribution”. Since the beginning, I have structured it so that every utility cost across the 6,700 m² is distributed proportionally among the 60 organisations. Consequently, the size of the electricity bill has always been a direct concern for everyone in the house.
We work hard to maintain fees that are well below market rates. It is our responsibility to implement measures like this solar project to keep costs manageable, ensuring that neither we nor our residents are priced out of the market.
How involved was the Budapest Municipality in this process, and could they support you as a partner in this endeavour?
Viktória Kulcsár: I campaigned for a roof renovation for ten years, but that was simply a matter of structural necessity; a building owner’s basic responsibility is to address major issues like roofing and mechanical systems. While daily upkeep is our job as the operator, fixing recurring leaks is the owner’s duty, so their renovation was essentially the bare minimum. Regarding the solar project itself, they were hesitant for a long time due to the “extra paperwork,” but they eventually gave their formal consent.
Ultimately, we didn’t expect much administrative help, nor did we want to spend years in bureaucratic negotiations. What we required—and what the grant demanded—was simply that they didn’t block the initiative. Once we had their consent, we moved forward. Interestingly, even though the building doesn’t belong to the 2nd District, the local council is now actively promoting itself as “the home of the first energy community in the Margit Quarter.” It seems everyone is now keen to claim a share of the project’s success.
Could you explain the specific energy community model you have implemented and how the partnership works?
Ágnes Szalkai-Lőrincz: Our model is an energy-producing community, which is a particularly interesting case in Hungary. Currently, national frameworks allow for nine different types of energy community activities; production is just one of them, meaning you don’t necessarily have to share energy to qualify as a community.
Since 2023, we have been working closely with FÜGE to navigate this entire structure. The Budapest Municipality, as the building owner, decided after a three-month procedure that they did not want to be a co-owner in the consortium. Instead, they provided FÜGE with full formal consent to install the solar panels independently.
I do have to tease Viki slightly, however—if they ever move, they cannot technically take the panels with them; the energy community will. Specifically, KESZ Nonprofit Ltd would take ownership of the installation if the organisation had to vacate the building. Of course, we would move them to wherever FÜGE goes next, as we created this together for them. We know that every five years, when the rental tender comes up, there is always a bit of nerves and a hope that the city will allow them to continue operating this house so we don’t have to worry about relocating the infrastructure.
Beyond the technical setup, how does your organisation practically and financially support the energy community at Jurányi?
Ágnes Szalkai-Lőrincz: The guarantee for this is that we create a “community fund” for each investment. This means the income from the solar-panel system remains with the energy community. We do not simply donate the panels; Jurányi pays for the energy they consume locally, but as a non-profit Ltd, we ensure that any profit—the amount remaining above our operational costs—is not taken out as dividends. Instead, it is placed into this community fund. Together with the project site, we then decide how to reinvest it into new efficiency measures.
At Jurányi, for example, we are saving to replace the archaic heating system, which currently relies on layers of old gas boilers. Heating 6,700 m² is a serious undertaking; while electricity is relatively affordable, reducing gas consumption will make a much more noticeable difference to their wallets.
Therefore, on the one hand, we are targeting boiler replacement; on the other, we are planning the electrification of domestic hot water during the winter break. Currently, the solar panels’ output is used locally in a roughly two-thirds ratio, while one-third goes back into the grid. We want to push that ratio toward local consumption by replacing the massive 1,000-litre gas water tank with a 350-litre hybrid unit. This hybrid system—combining electric and gas boilers—will allow “excess” solar energy to pre-heat water for showers and kitchens.
How is the funding landscape for renewable energy shifting, and what new financial models are you developing to replace the traditional reliance on grants?
Ágnes Szalkai-Lőrincz: It is very important to recognise that we are offering a new kind of investment opportunity. In recent times, the renewable energy sector has been a rather spoiled sector; if you could write a good national grant application—or even better, a foreign or EU application—you could organise a vast amount of money around it. This made both the municipal and private sectors quite comfortable, as people grew accustomed to paying very little while still wanting to invest in such projects. However, we are now at a point where these EU funds are becoming increasingly uncertain, and there will be less and less money available for this area.
Because of this, we have to design models where either the contribution amounts are divided into such small pieces that they become affordable for anyone, or returns and interest rates must be offered that are attractive to a traditional investor. We would much rather move towards the first version—the idea that anyone should have the opportunity to invest in such a community energy project. We want to cut these projects into such small slices that it will not be a problem if someone is not in a very strong financial situation. What is truly vital for us is to reach local people with these opportunities, precisely so that local investment creates local benefits and generates changes that are visible and felt by everyone.
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