Rhabillage Association | presentation | 2019

Rhabillage Association 2018

We bring our creative thinking and make full use of contemporary art language and interactive cleverness to translate deep historical research projects into accessible experiences for future communities.

Our work is focused on the integration of the cultural heritage in the urban development process.

Gathering a wide range of knowledge, we merge our expertise as researchers, practitioners, advocates or public officers and develop new fields of study by raising daring questions and producing new tools.

We pay particular attention to the social aspects involved and the multidisciplinary approach in the sustainable evolution of urban and rural communities.

The Mourning Houses Project TYPE :

urban study online database

YEAR :

2006

PHASE :

updating the online database

FUNDS :

French Embassy in Romania Union of Architects in Romania

CONTENT :

inventory of 4000 degraded buildings in Bucharest & interactive awareness activities

TEAM :

over 100 students in Architecture

The MOURNING HOUSES project started in 2006 as a voluntary based initiative structured into two complementary components: the creation and development of an online archive of historically and architecturally valuable old degraded buildings in Romania and promoting this database to the local community as awarness on the state of the Romanian architectural heritage.

In 2010, the inventory in Bucharest was completed, resulting in approximately 4,000 degraded, demolished or wiating to be demolished houses, historical monuments, buildings in protected areas, or simple constructions with architectural and historical value for the city.

The awareness activities carried in the last 10 years targeted the local community and were based on the documentary support resulting from the inventory process, an interactive approach and an accessible language. The message had a significant impact in the media, generating TV campaigns, and encouraging similar initiatives in the area of civil society. casecareplang.ro

The Not Mourning Houses Project TYPE :

urban study online database

YEAR :

2010

PHASE :

updating the online database

FUNDS :

French Embassy in Romania Union of Architects in Romania

CONTENT :

inventory of 60 good rehabilitation models in Bucharest

TEAM :

arch. Loredana Brumă - project coordinator / Alexandra Epure, Anamaria Vasile, Anna Marquer Passicot, Andrada Bulai, Crina Manolescu, Diana Mărăcineanu, Dragoş Milotin, Ecaterina Lorenţ, Irina Moise, Iulia Doroftei, Liana Gheorghiţă, Lucian Vasile, Monica Murgu, Mihai Andreicuţ, Oana Popovici, Roxana Iovu - photographers / Diana Guţu - documentarist

Developed in 2010, the NOT MOURNING HOUSES project involved the creation of an inventory of the good practice models in the rehabilitation of the architectural heritage in Bucharest and the promotion of the results in addition and complementarity to those from The Mourning Houses project in order to support other actions of information, education and deeper engagement of local community.

In Bucharest, there were identified about 60 good rehabilitation examples and only 20 buildings that can stand as models of good practice.

casecarenumaiplang.ro

RePAD Guide.

Rehabilitation_Patrimony Architecture Development TYPE :

editorial product

YEAR :

2013

PHASE :

published

FUNDS :

Administration for the National Cultural Fund, Union of Architects in Romania

CONTENT : 312 pages + DVD TEAM :

PROJECT COORDINATOR : arch. Loredana Brumă DOCUMENTATION : arch. Anamaria Vasile GRAPHIC DESIGN : arch. Alina Rizescu ENGLISH TEXT INTERPRETATION : Ioana Diaconu FRENCH TEXT INTERPRETATION : Anna MarquerPassicot IMAGES : Şerban Bonciocat, Loredana Brumă, Elena Tatiana Chiş, Vlad Eftenie, Cornel Lazia CONTRIBUTIONS : documentation: Mihai Ganea / images: Gabriel Antonie, Corvin Cristian, Mihai Culescu, Cosmin Dragomir, Jan Nass, Cornel RaduLoghin, Atelier MASS, Birou de arhitectură STARH, Biroul de Reabilitare şi Conservare Clădiri Istorice - Primăria Timişoara, Calup, Case Care Plâng, Case Care Nu mai Plâng, Conac Polizu, Copşa Mare, Dianei 4, Dico & Ţigănaş, Dincolo de faţade, Graphic Studio, Igloo media, Make a Point, Moara Veche - Hosman, Restaurant Negresco, Romania Green Building Council, Terror House Museum DTP / IMAGE PROCESSING : arch. Alina Rizescu LOGO : Concept Machine VIDEO PRODUCTION : Lion Productions PRINT : Imprimeria Arta Grafică

The RePAD Guide is a concept book about economic development in relation to the architectural heritage.

Beginning with simple observation exercises, the work, including printed content and video interviews on DVD, leads the reader through juridical, economic, technical and strategic issues, constantly using an unitary and accessible language.

The Guide is designed as a trilingual documentation diary. The texts complement each other, following a three linguistic criteria structure: awareness (RO), history and details (FR), business and management (EN).

As the cultural heritage in general, the book is a story that reveals itself step by step, little by little.

It is a personal study that intrigues and challenge to engagement.

It is a legacy to be passed on. re-pad.ro

RePAD Network.

Rehabilitation_Patrimony Architecture Development TYPE :

methodological tool for urban development

YEAR :

2014

PHASE :

network development

FUNDS :

membership based

CONTENT : interdisciplinary communication platform

Approached in an intelligent way, the rehabilitation of the architectural heritage can diminish considerably the three crises of contemporary society: it can create new jobs, can have a positive economic impact and can be an ecological model.

RePAD aims to develop a community of international specialists with various expertise, related to the rehabilitation of the architectural heritage in Romania. . generates an accurate overview of the integration of the architectural heritage in the urban development process . contribute to the development of a better informed community of specialists, with a more advanced level of interdisciplinary communication . supports real estate investors in developing high quality rehabilitation projects, in line with current trends . ensure good communication with local authorities in order to develop strategies for urban development in relation to the architectural heritage . creates supporting documents for better information of the local communities concerning the proper intervention manners on architectural heritage.

EDRAH_Giurgiu.

Economic Development in Relation with the Architectural Heritage TYPE :

methodological tool for urban development

YEAR :

2018

PHASE :

pilot testing in Giurgiu

FUNDS :

Order of Architects in Romania Municipality of Giurgiu

CONTENT :

The EDRAH strategy proposed for the municipality involves a bottom-up integrative approach, involves international expertise and aims to use the experience as a pilot study to be replicated in other areas of the country with similar problems. It is a methodological experiment of integrative urban analysis and we hope to become a model of good practice as well as the opportunity to train a new generation of specialists.

TEAM :

TUTORS - phase I : Loredana BRUMĂ, Alexandra ARDELEANU, Anamaria VASILE - Rhabillage Association, Alexandru GHEORGHE (architect), Cătălina VĂRZARU (chief architect in Giurgiu), Emil PĂUNESCU (historian) Giurgiu INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS - phase I :Michelle SOFGE (US), Chang GENG (CHN), Melpomeni VYZIKA (GR), Esraa AL-HADAD (EGY), Bashobi BANERJEE (IND), Lily HASBANI (SYR), Anna KOZLOVA (CAN), Alexandra ANDRIANOU (GRC), Sanchari GHOSH (IND), Cristian GHIŢĂ (RO), Marina ZDRAFCU (RO), Alexandra BOGDAN (RO), Adina ȘERBAN (RO), Cristina CHIOSEAUA (RO), Golara TAVAKKOLIAN (IRN), Ahmed MOSTAFA (EGY), Zahida QUADRI (PAK) ROMANIAN PARTICIPANTS : Cristian GHIŢĂ, Marina ZDRAFCU, Alexandra BOGDAN, Adina ȘERBAN, Cristina CHIOSEAU

Although only 60 km from the capital, Giurgiu, the city of a dense and varied patrimonial heritage, is overshadowed by big cities, without significant regional, national or European echoes. The little ‘giurgiuvers’, once adults, follow the road to Bucharest aiming for “higher” education, some get lost in the European lands, others settle in the metropolitan areas of Romania. But why not reverse this route? Why not try to develop here an intriguing ‘playground’ with replication potential across Europe and elsewhere?

Following the openness of the local administration for valorising the local cultural heritage, we started a new initiative for the inventory of the architectural heritage of Giurgiu, part of an interdisciplinary workshop aiming for the analysis, documentation and promotion of city’s identitary values at national level and the development of regional actions in line with current international trends for the effective use of the existing potential. This action, deployed systematically throughout the city, street by street, will allow the identification and the repertory of the degraded buildings and the good practice models in rehabilitation.

Earlier this year, it was found opportune to develop a study for the rehabilitation of the Station Road, located down town. The path is defined by typical traditional buildings for the local architecture of the early twentieth century. As a result of infrastructure works that, during 2007, have transformed the area dedicated to road traffic into pedestrian space, most of the buildings have remained empty at the ground level.

Therefore, the dilemma to be solved is: HOW TO REHABILITATE THIS PERIMETER IN A SUSTAINABLE WAY, CAPITALISING ON THE EXISTING PATRIMONIAL FUND, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE NEED TO DEVELOP PUBLIC SPACES FOR THE COMMUNITY AND TO SUPPORT ECONOMIC REGENERATION BOTH AT NEIGHBOURHOOD AND CITY LEVEL?

Cezara Mucenic Archive TYPE :

archive documents digitisation

YEAR :

2015

PHASE :

under development

FUNDS :

Union of the Architects in Romania ArCuB - București

CONTENT : A cultural projects that creates public access for archive documents by digitizing the inventory of an impressive volume of files from the National Archives, Bucharest Department - from 1830-1960, collected and organized by the historian C. Mucenic.

Since the beginning of the project, we have had the support of Ms. Cezara Mucenic to access the information she had collected for more than a 30 year period of research at the National Archives Bucharest Department - the concerned study period being between 1830 and 1960. Together with the Rhabillage Association, she wanted to find a way to pass on these documents, now stored at her home, in a fragile physical format that, at some point, would have risked to be lost.

On the one hand, there were photographs of the original archive plans. On the other hand, there were handwritten notes, extracts of the original archive files, selected according to what it seemed to be significant, or what was the interest at the time of the study. After the scanning phase, followed the processing of the information. For the photographic section, image processing was required. A meticulous work, given the fact that the original images were of low resolution and they represented original old plans of even 1 or 2m at times. We sought to modify the minimum of these images, keeping in mind to subtract as much as possible of their content. The notes were transcribed during the first processing phase. And later checked together with Ms. Cezara Mucenic, in order to avoid errors.

The dedicated website of the project was created having in mind the idea of generating a friendly and accessible platform. It’s not necessarily a specific archive website, but that does not mean it can not respond to the demands of an archive database.

By creating an online database, we have tried to extend this thread further, to develop a practical work tool for researchers, architects, students of different specialisations, but that can also be a simple website for a resident in Bucharest, curious to discover what happened on his street before. arhivacezaramucenic.rhabillage.ro

The truth is to be found in the archives TYPE :

video product

YEAR :

2017

PHASE :

dissemination

FUNDS :

ArCuB - București

CONTENT : The movie speaks about the formative course followed by the art historian Cezara Mucenic, about her doctorate developed under “special” conditions during the dark times of communism of the 1970s and 1980s and about her historical studies as an expert on historical monuments.

We raise awareness concerning the necessity of easy access for documenting architectural researches we are putting in balance the rather obscure situation of the Romanian archives compared with those in France, where digitisation has been a priority for years and where there is already a real impact following these investments considered to be of public utility and we show how this fund can be used today in many creative ways.

Beyond this particular thread, the movie talks about ‘living archives’, about people, inspirational models, devoted and dedicated researchers from whom we are striving to learn in order to understand how to carry out further research efforts and how to contribute more effectively to our better development as individuals and society.

The documentary intersperses informal details, the role of the family with the impact of research, emotions of the past and experiences for the future and various interviews, some rather serious, some more relaxed, drawing on both Romanian and French.

ReTURN. It’s your turn TYPE :

design product

YEAR :

2014

PHASE :

pre-production

FUNDS :

grant search ongoing

CONTENT :

cardboard box, recycled paper presentation brochure, 7 cardboard descriptions for each represented period, 49 recycled plastic elements [7pcs for each model] DIMENSIONS : 70 x 40 x 7 cm

TEAM :

Arch. Loredana Brumă - concept designer Mihai Bogdan Ioniţă - product designer Arch. Anamaria Vasile - historic documentation Concept Machine - visual identity

Playing was and still is one of the most effective ways to learn. How about using games for architectural education?

ReTURN. It’s your turn is a playful challenge to experience the heritage creation process.

By using simple and accessible language tools, the gamers are to learn about the main architectural styles in Romania and the individual role in the urban development process.

The interactive installation is under a constant process of evolution, deconstruction and reconstruction.

It is flexible and can generate unique and creative configurations.

It’s a ludic way to understand how the Romanian cities evolved and what is or could be our role in continuing the process.

NG4

Eye-witnessing apartment block mutations TYPE :

urban study

YEAR :

2016

PHASE :

grant search ongoing

CONTENT : debates, workshops, art installation, book TEAM :

Alexandra Ardeleanu - architect Loredana Brumă - architectural heritage specialist Č˜erban Scrieciu - economist Maria Č˜alaru - social anthropologist Anamaria Vasile - architect

NG4 is about apartment blocks and their inhabitants, their intrigues, dreams, ideals, ambitions and resignations.

It is a story about contemporary Romanian society within the context of globalisation. It is about the need to rethink the role of architects in relation to collective housing mutations, which have been occurring in an increasingly dynamic, dense, complex, and vulnerable society.

The project explores potential solutions and strategies for a more sustainable urban dwelling and towards a housing architecture that gives a helping hand to the community.

It combines architecture, social anthropology, economy, energy, visual arts and design.

NG4 is about apartment blocks and their inhabitants, their intrigues, dreams, ideals, ambitions and resignations.It is a story about contemporary Romanian society within the context of globalisation.

It is about the need to rethink the role of architects in relation to collective housing mutations, which have been occurring in an increasingly dynamic, dense, complex, and vulnerable society. The project explores potential solutions and strategies for a more sustainable urban dwelling and towards a housing architecture that gives a helping hand to the community. It combines architecture, social anthropology, economy, energy, visual arts and design.

Natural gas [NG] is seen as an ever-present element of urban housing dynamics, the silver-lining that runs throughout our story.

The project adopts a four [4] dimensional approach: . SCALE - explores the urban environment all the way from a bird’s-eye view to the scale of the apartment as an intimate unit of dwelling. . TIME - targeting the socialist and post-socialist period, up to the present day of a European country vulnerable to global economic dynamics. . EMOTION - introduces the public to the storytelling, starting from a detached,objective perspective and gradually moving to a subjective, personally engaging take on the topic. . HUMAN PRINT that puts the visitor in direct contact with the factual transformations brought about by the process of living in a typical Romanian block of flats, drawing on architectural, socioeconomic and environmental elements.

We truly believe that investing in heritage is not just an option.

It’s one important responsibility.

It’s not something related to a specific profession, but to the human nature, to how we grow as society.

We don’t invest for better consumption, but to find the proper way to emerge further.

We don’t protect heritage for the sake of it, but for understanding how we can better evolve.

Together we can prepare a better future for our past.

RHABILLAGE ASSOCIATION Arch. Loredana BRUMÄ‚ president / project coordinator

+40 721 451 460 | rhabillage@gmail.com | rhabillage.ro