Romanian Design

Romanian Design Week, the most important multidisciplinary festival in Romania, celebrates 10 years of existence, during which it has changed the face of local creative industries. Since the first RDW edition, The Institute has produced exhibitions totalling an area of over 15,000 square metres, having showcased over 1,400 design projects and an average of 150 designers and architecture or design studios every year.

By Oana Vasiliu

Still on up until May 22

In the very beginning of the project, The Institute restored eight spaces in Bucharest and added them back into the urban circuit: Stirbei Palace, Bucharest Chamber of Commerce Palace, Gabroveni Inn, Amzei Square, Cobalcescu Garages, Telephones Palace, Oscar Maugsch Palace, and Combinatul Fondului Plastic have all hosted large design and architecture exhibitions that were open to the public during editions of Romanian Design Week.

Over 400 related events have contributed to the transformation of Bucharest year after year and have guided over 150,000 RDW visitors on routes worthy of an European design festival.

“We’ll continue to make Bucharest the capital of Romanian design this year, and we want to further encourage the consumption of products and services generated by creative disciplines. We are optimistic and continue to believe in the potential, development, and capacity of Romanian design to address topics that are relevant to the present context such as sustainability, inclusion or cooperation. We need the future to be marked by solidarity, and what we are preparing this year will also serve as commentary on this essential aspect for the times in which we are living,” said Andrei Bortun, the CEO of The Institute.

This year’s edition of Romanian Design Week will be based on the #FORWARD concept, and the key destination in the programme will be Combinatul Fondului Plastic.

The theme of this year's edition was born from the desire to investigate, test, and design scenarios for a future of creative communities, innovation, inclusion, and sustainability through collaboration, to have more harmonious cities and communities.

These essential elements of this year's theme will be brought to the public through a series of exhibitions and events that will be co-produced with some of the most relevant local creative-cultural organisations, laying the foundation for a new beginning based on experiences, processes, and collaborations.

The 2022 festival will also mark the opening of the largest Romanian design concept store in the country, which will spread over 500 square metres and will contain design objects from every major category: fashion, accessories, furniture or art.

RDW 2022 will also transform the outdoor space at Combinatul Fondului Plastic into a micro-city of arts and design, which will offer visitors a daily programme of activities, interactive installations, music, and events, as well as a dedicated food & drinks area, at the 29 Baiculesti Street location.

The programme of the 10-year anniversary edition of RDW will reflect the results of the strategic partnerships established by The Institute with the European Commission Representation in Romania, the Romanian Cultural Institute, the Order of Architects in Bucharest, the Union of Plastic Artists, Combinatul Fondului Plastic, and the Baza Association. We open the city, NOD makerspace, Czech Center, the Hungarian Cultural Institute, the French Institute or ARCEN will all be present at the festival, alongside events and projects signed by more than 50 other creative-cultural organisations in Romania.

The event will take place between May 13 and May 22, and tickets can be purchased online through the Eventbook network.

For the first time in Romania, a mixed-use urban reconversion project will include a cultural centre that will be open to the entire community, created in partnership with the Cluj Cultural Centre, which will host concerts, theatre and contemporary dance shows, workshops, and festivals. With a planned investment of more than half a billion euros, this will be Romania’s largest urban reconversion project so far.

By Oana Vasiliu

Old becomes new

The concept venue for performing arts will be a part of the project developed by IULIUS Company on the Carbochim platform in Cluj-Napoca. One of the two industrial heritage buildings on the project site, namely then facility with arcades dating back to the 1950s, will thus be preserved and introduced in the public circuit by taking on cultural uses.

In addition to the performing arts centre, the urban reconversion project developed by IULIUS Company on the Carbochim platform will also include a live performance auditorium, the first of its kind to be integrated in a real-estate project, an amphitheatre and venues for outdoor events, the latest movie theatre concepts, as well as a diverse mix of leisure options and dozens of restaurants and coffee shops featuring international themes. The Carbochim facility will be transformed into a cultural centre set to accommodate performing arts events: concerts, theatre, contemporary dance, workshops, and festivals. The newly created spaces will be managed by the Cluj Cultural Centre, with the participation of some of its member organisations operating in the field of performing arts, and it will always be accessible for the community of artists in Cluj, who will be able to contribute to the development of its programme. “As early as 2013, when local community specialists drafted the city’s Cultural Strategy, the need to create a contemporary art centre was defined as the sector’s main priority. We are glad that we are now able to kickstart the first component of this project, which is dedicated to performing arts. Doing this in partnership with the private sector is a first for Romania and we are all excited to be able to work side by side, bringing together resources and expertise from the worlds of culture and business into the same project,” said Stefan Teisanu, manager of the Cluj Cultural Centre.

The need to have more spaces dedicated to art and culture was identified as one of the most pressing priorities of the local cultural sector in the study titled “Work in culture: current models and changes generated by the COVID-19 pandemic” conducted for the Cluj Cultural Centre by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Data Science at the Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca. The second industrial heritage building set to undergo reconversion is the administrative facility, which will comprise both co-working facilities and pilot-venues designed to support and boost local creative talents and initiatives.

“We wish to preserve the local identity for the Carbochim platform urban reconversion project, as we believe it carries social importance, while also giving the two reconverted industrial buildings a new meaning that resonates with the public. Cluj is a deeply cultural and creative city, a component we will showcase in our new development by means of this partnership with the local cultural community. We are glad that the community confirms our vision, as cultural uses are among Cluj locals’ main expectations of the new development, alongside green spaces, which will be another hallmark feature of our projects,” said Iulian Dascalu, the owner of IULIUS Company.

IULIUS Company’s urban regeneration project for the Carbochim platform in ClujNapoca sets out to transform an industrial area into a living space, integrating it as a part of the city. The factory will be relocated and upgraded, without any interruptions to its activity. The new project will feature the largest retail area in Romania (115,000 square metres) with more than 400 stores, a cultural centre for performing arts, the conservation of two industrial heritage buildings and their reintroduction into the public circuit, the development of a model of integrated approach to green spaces by connecting the newly created urban garden spanning on 4-plus hectares with the adjacent parks, and many others.