Brief
Eagle Hills, one of the UAE’s largest property developers, is building a ‘new green city within a city’ with the Hungarian Government in Budapest’s XIV district, known locally as Zuglo, on the ‘Pest’ side of the Danube.
The 100-hectare development, one of the largest regeneration projects in Europe, is planned around 32-hectares of parkland, which will give the development a very green ‘al fresco’ feel, with outdoor activities, restaurants, bars and cafés. The guiding principle of the development is sustainability; involving a smart city concept that incorporates energy-efficient buildings, renewable energy systems, and solutions for intelligent waste.
Finding a name for the project was one of the early challenges, so Eagle Hills approached us in December 2024, with the requirement for a distinctive, prestigious and protectable name required by early January 2025. The name needed to echo the heritage of Budapest while reflecting a luxurious contemporary lifestyle. A dot.com domain name and trade marks were also requirements of the brief.
Solution
We conducted a review of world-class developments to understand naming conventions, but few projects were of this scale, even those of Eagle Hill’s peer group, which included British Land, Grosvenor, Emmar and Brookfield Properties.
We also researched plans and architectural concepts for the development and assessed whether there were any historic or cultural associations with the specific area that could provide relevant naming themes. Another attribute was creating a set of names that are similar in both Hungarian and English (such as ‘panorama’ or ‘deluxe’), given the global interest that the development was already generating.
With more than a dozen themes identified, we set to work exploring historic and contemporary name concepts, shortlisting 20 brand names that passed our trade mark, domain name and social media screening.
In the end, one of the simpler concepts was chosen. Surprisingly ‘Grand Budapest’ was not registered as a trade mark, neither was its .com domain taken, so these brand assets were quickly secured or applied for. This elegant name communicates the appropriate blend of historic, cultural and luxury characteristics, which will be able to support a proposition conveying unparalleled design and quality.
Results
The development is currently in its early stages, referred to as the “Grand Budapest project”. The brand is yet to be designed, but it is expected to be launched later in 2025, once the masterplan is approved.
www.grandbudapest.com