1st – 8th September 2026 //
Ecological Backup System is a public micro-intervention that examines the relationship between urban infrastructure and nature through an autonomous, artificially maintained micro-ecological support unit. Installed on a busy, paved section of the Danube riverbank, the small-scale structure consists of an aluminium frame with translucent walls, containing plants and a solar-powered water circulation system that together form a self-sustaining ecological unit..
During the day, the installation operates entirely from solar energy. A built-in sound system creates a composition combining natural sounds (bird calls, flowing water, and meadow sounds) with distorted electronic and industrial noises, evoking both the former ecological condition of the riverside and the sensation of an artificially reconstructed nature.
Before the construction of the embankments, this area was part of the Danube’s natural shoreline and floodplain ecosystem, gradually transformed into artificial urban infrastructure through city development.
Rather than attempting to reconstruct nature, the project presents a possible future scenario: what happens when the survival of urban ecosystems becomes dependent on artificial life-support systems? Ecological Backup System brings up questions of urban ecology and environmental vulnerability into public space.
Created by: Kristóf Szabó – KristofLab (HU)
Times and locations:
- Installation:
Time: 1st – 8th September 2026 (ongoing)
Location: on the quay in front of Corvinus University (1093 Budapest, Salkaházi Sára rakpart) - Thematic discussion accompanying the intervention:
Time: 6.30PM, 1st September 2026
Location: on the quay in front of Corvinus University (1093 Budapest, Salkaházi Sára rakpart)
Contributor to the discussion: Péter Hámori, architect, co-founder of GUBAHÁMORI, doctoral student and external lecturer at MOME
Moderator: Marietta Mogyorósy, landscape and horticultural engineer, nature facilitator
Language: Hungarian
The program is free of charge