An 1964 mock-up of Székkutas, the first "modernly designed socialist village

The Pioneer Department Store, the late office building on Vorosmarty ter, the National Planning Office building, the press palace on Blaha Lujza ter, the Hungatotex building on Kossuth Lajos utca, the Tihany Hotel, the Ganz factory, the Chemolimpex headquuarters on Deak Ferenc utca, the Aurora Szallo in Balatonalmadi - all iconic buildings of the Socialist era that have been demolished or remodelled beyond all recognition, according to Andras Ferkai, a historian of architecture.

The Centre for Contemporary Architecture (KEK) devoted a conference to this issue last week, asking what should become of buildings built after World War II.

Ferkai believes the list of victims shows that any important building of the same period could meet the same fate. "I'm not saying that every one of them should survive, nor that they should be left untouched, but it would be wrong to allow all of them to vanish without a trace," said the professor at the Moholy-Nagy University of the Arts.

There is a vast number of these buildings. There are some 4m buildings in the country, of which at least two thirds were built in the 20th century, meaning as many as 2m could have been built in the second half of the century. Hungary has a poor record on protecting historic monuments. Some 121 buildings are under temporary protection, while 11,139 are fully protected. "Even twice this number would be too little," according to Attila Gyor, who is in charge of the listing of public monuments. Ferkai claims only 14 buildings built after 1945 enjoy this kind of protection. Gyor believes there are more but not enough. His office is often reduced to firefighting: buildings are often only listed when they are in real danger of disappearing. Some 40 buildings were listed last year, while 208 were listed in 2005 by the Ministry of National Heritage. But in 1998, only one single building was listed. On average, about 50 are listed each year, a small number compared to the rest of Europe.

On one thing the architectural profession is unanimous: listing is not a guarantee that a building will survive. "It takes years to list a building, while a demolition order can be issued in a single day," Gyor says. If there is no concerted action, there is no chance of saving a building. There have been cases where local communities and civil society were successful in preserving a building, when it came to the Jewish Quarter in Pest or the market hall on Hunyadi ter, but none of these efforts concerned a recent building. Pal Ritook, a historian at the Hungarian Museum for Architectural History, makes another point: if a building cannot be given a new purpose, it has died, and this is especially the case for the architecture of the second half of the 20th century. For this reason, it would be wrong for the preservationists to drive away the investors.

Óbuda panels © István Fazekas

Which buildings of the Socialist period should be saved, and how free should investors' hands be? Some city centres built in the Socialist period - in Szekszard or Salgotarjan - are in danger - modernist schools, office buildings, hotels, stations and waiting rooms. The headquarters of the miners', builders', traders', financiers' and hospitality trade unions aer also in danger. The builders union headquarters, which is listed, is in danger. One of the greatest achievements of contemporary Hungarian architecture, it has been so remodelled that Ferkai, who once was happy to see old buildings remodelled, has now changed his mind. Another trade union headquarters, on Jokai utca, is unlisted after Istvan Hiller, the minister for cultural heritage, overruled a recommendation that it be listed. It is striking that his Socialist Party bought the building to serve as a future headquarters - for which it will need extensive rebuilding.

There are some good examples of existing buildings being reused. Two former bus stations in Budapest are well used, Ferkai says. The Deak ter station was sensitively remodelled, as was the Kosztolanyi Dezso ter station, which is now the successful Tranzit Art Cafe.

The architectural historian Endre Prakfalvi, a specialist in the architecture of the period, says the public has not yet realised how much it is losing to demolition - but that this has always been the case. In the 19th century, medieval buildings were valued - and everything else was demolished without a thought. "Specialists should be speaking out before the sea-change in public opinion," he said. He and his colleague Zoltan Fehervari easily lift several buildings that need listing. The Vasas tennis courts, the meteorological observatory in Siofok, the Karancs hotel.

And what of the housing estates that so characterise the era? Ferkai believes listing is not the answer here: complex rehabilitation programmes are needed that involve the local community. There will have to be more building, but nobody would regret building a little more variety into these parts of town. But some smaller estates certainly deserve protection. These aer not "iconic" buildings, but they evoke the day-to-day life of an earlier era. Ferkai mentions Dunaujvaros's socialist realist estate, buildings near Kerepesi ut and Ors vezer tere or the Jozsef Attila estate in Budapest's 9th district.

He is particularly fond of an experimental estate in Obuda, which consists of just three streets. Constructed between 1959 and 1963, it served as a model for future estates.

Many iconic buildings are stained with the memory of the one-party state. But even well-designed buildings suffer from this prejudice. Lajos Gadoros and Jozsef Schall designed a courtyard house in 1949. The stairwell is fixed to the side of the house and stands on stilts. This style is used in many parts of the country, including in Csepel, Ujpest and Salgotarjan. Everywhere, there is a false legend that the architects forgot to build in a staircase, and that the original plan needed to be 'corrected' later.

Zsolt Zádori