stefan nechita portfolio
still from the movie The name of the rose (1986)
Mountain observatory/Border pavilion Type: school assignment Year: 2014 Set like an anchor on the mountain's ridge, the observatory becomes a border pavilion; a building that ties together two countries on two sides of a mountain. Once inside, the visitor experiences a no man's land of profound insideness, as opposed to the extreme opening of the special condition of the exterior. This space is a monument of stability that receives meaning only through the play of light on its surfaces during day time and through the movement of the stars at night. After passing the tree line, the hicker is guided to the top by this strange volume that seems to be without scale, just like the mountain. On the top of the volume the sky observatory is hidden and reachable only through a vertical ladder - a last climb.
The building falls into nature. Nature that is perfect. Thus, the observatory, having never seen other buildings before, immitates its surroundings. It does this by trying to be as perfect as possible. It plunges into the mountain like a mountaineer’s anchor and then rests there for eternity, in the cozy rocky shelter.
short facade
plan and facade gypsum model 1/200
perspective from the mountain ridge
general section
section gypsum model 1/20
bird's eye view gypsum model 1/200
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plans +1/+5/+15m
daylight interior view
nightlight interior view
vertical floor/wall/window detail 1/20
study models in gypsum
view from the open pit
Architecture repository Type: competition Result: 1st prize Year: 2013 Following the course of history, at certain moments of crossroads (natural disasters, important political change, periods after war, after revolutions) the need for architecture surpasses every other need; all architecture programs suddenly dissapear, housing remains the only interest. But at the same time that complete studies are being developed, in a world where individuality is at its peak, what can a simple architect do? The project sends a message to those in the future; it sets a warning; starting as a Housing Museum (archive that is constantly being updated) and becoming a memorial of origins. It does not give solutions or resolve problems of housing; it is a mere shout towards patience and reason. Who knows? This place may already exist somewhere, waiting patiently for us to discover it.
The project tells the story of M., an architect who is faced with his life slowly ending and his acknowledgement of the fact that he has nothing to leave behind. The future would certainly give rise to critical situations when architecture and housing would gain in importance for the majority of people. He decided that he must send a
message to this maybe distant, maybe close future. But untill then the message would need to be hidden, for it had to be discovered when it was truely needed. And what better way to hide something than inside a PIT. Beneath his 10 x 30 meter piece of land that was saved from the old property, with a small house in the middle he would make a housing museum.
He would house here all the knowledge that architecture has attained during the centuries so that when the time comes, it will open for everyone, making a statement of patience in rebuilding, as opposed to the natural haste that would entervene. This would be his dying wish.
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section through the storage rooms
1 the Queen’s room in the Great Pyramid of Keops, Giza 2 the ancient Lybrary of Alexandria destroyed by christians and along with it most of the writings of that period 3 interbelic brick factories in Romania 4 Bruder Klaus Chapel of Peter Zumthor. The wooden scaffolding used for the concrete was burned in its position 5 the Shawshank Redemption escape through the tunnel scene
statue of Johannes Honterus, on the south side of the church, pointing towards the german school
Public space Type: competition Year: 2012 The Black Church and its courtyard have a primary role for the city of Brasov as the religious, touristic and historic center of the old city. Inside the court, the views are cut by this massive collossus which keeps you close to it, always at its base looking up from always the same distance, sensing the tension between it and the surrounding buildings. The court flourishes as a circumscribed space, at the border between public and private, between religious and profane. The competition proposes the revival of this space by means of subtle intervention, as it belongs both to the church, the german school situated here and most importantly, to the city.
The shape of the court shows a series of pockets with a role not only in connecting the adjacent spaces, but also in the softening of the access inside the site. Others are hidden behind walls and carry their duty with respect to the core of the court. Therefore, a morphological development of the surrounding space is proposed, offering it the identity required, not by the exclusion of these pockets, but by their potential empowerment within the entire composition.
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placement within the cultural, touristic and religious axis
the Black Church, next to the Rathaus Square, central points of interest within the old fortified citadel of Brasov
relationship between void and filled space in the fabric surrounding the site
the Black Church: independent volume within the urban fabric; must not become adjunct to the Rathaus Square
the proposed site is a shared space between the Church and the German School and has a mixed nature: religious, secular and public
the excluded pockets are defined by subtle architectural elements, serving as forerunners to the court entrance
the redefinement of the urban gothic square through the determination of an area of proximity
the pavement of the main space, perpendicular to the direction of the church reveals the tension between the church and the surrounding fabric
before: the linking pocket between the Rathaus Square and the Johannes Honterus Court
before: the southern side of the court serves as a main yard for the German School
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after: the pocket becomes a convergence and distribution space for pausing from daily endeavours, for sitting down and having a sip of water from the well
after: preserving its function, the children are now playing on a clean, paved space; stone benches are scattered throughout
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1. spotlight concealed in the concave cap of the light pole; 2. Schreder light pole, Aura model, anodized aluminium, dark grey, h= 6m; 3. Anodized aluminium trash can, dark grey, h= 0.8m, D= 0.3m; 4. Underground plastic tube continuation of roof drainage system - D= 8cm; 5. Bazalt block 10x20x10 cm; colours white & grey; 6. Sandy earth filling h= 4cm (unfitting for vegetal growth); 7. Sand layer h= 3.5 - 9 cm; 8. Geotextile layer; 9. Water insulation; 11. Natural soil layer; 12. Drainage duct, iron, 42x38x22 cm; 13. Underground sewage system link; 14. Sitting spots, bazalt, variable sizes, correlated with pavement pattern, h= 04m; 15. Small rigola elements, bazalt, 20x20x3 cm; 16. Existing cubical stone in front of the church, 16x16x16 cm; 17. Existing stone 34x16x15 cm; 18. Drainage duct, iron, 26x16x20 cm; 19. Buried lighting element, Phillips, model Pompei 505.
before: the space in front of the main school building, unwelcoming and distasteful
before: the old bookshop, completely secluded from the main court
after: the pocket becomes an open classroom, with two trees framing a small podium
after: the niches in the wall become permeable, the small pocket, a caffeteria
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east section
the nocturnal lighting scheme employs both a series of lighting poles and pin lights at the base of the church. the lighting poles are placed around the perimeter of the square and are equipped with reflectors illuminating the church. the pin lights are placed so as to stress the verticality of the gothic structure.
the statue of Johannes Honterus points towards the main school building, secluded inside a fenced perimeter in the unpaved court
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exhibition area in TU Eindhoven Vertigo building with all the models made in the course
1:1 Model Type: school assignment Year: 2014 In this assignment we had to rebuilt a 3 dimensional detail of an existing building in a 1:1 model. The house we chose is called Marcov House, by the architect Serban Sturdza, from Romania. The drainage system he designed for this house is highly effective in taking rain water as far away from the building as possible while at the same time creating a link with traditional drainage systems and. It also has a powerful esthetic presence that gives character to the entire house. In building this detail in original materials (wood, concrete, metal, etc) and original craftsmanship techniques we aquired hands on understanding of how an architectural detail works and how it is constructed.
1. Steel pipe painted – gargoyle Ø =16mm 2. Metal sheet (transversal) 3mm 3. Wooden planks 2,2x 15cm 4. Wooden roof beam 15cmx 15cm 5. Wooden bracing 12cm x 12cm 6. White stucco interior 2cm 7. Concrete reinforced beam 30x 50cm with 16cm insulation (extruded polystirene) 8. White stucco reinforced with metalic net 2cm 9. Wooden jamb with groove 2cm 10. Wooden Vierendel beam 15cm 11. Wooden planks with tongue and groove joints 2,2x 15cm 12. Insulation (expanded polystirene) 13. Plasterboard 12mm 14. Roof insulation (extruded polystirene ) 8cm 15. Ventilation layer (air ) 9cm 16. Insulation (mineral wool) with aluminium foil/ plasterboard 12cm 17. Ventilation orifice d=1cm/ anti insects metal net 18. Bituminous hidroisolation 4mm layer 19. Longitudinal wooden stick 20. Ceramic tiles 180mmx350mmx170mm 21. Ceramic roof tile fragment-used for maintaining the pitch’s angle 22. Transversal wooden stick 23. Gutter steel sheet 3mm
details of drainage system 1/20
12cm x 12cm wood roof beam
2cm x 3cm wooden longitudinal sticks 4mm bituminous hydroinsulation
2cm x 3cm wooden transversal sticks
40.5cm x 17cm x 6cm rounded ceramic roof tiles
3mm steel gutter
3mm steel shaders
3mm steel pipe structure
Ă˜20mm rain steel pipe
Ø22mm hole in wood with 2mm thick metal pipe inserted 8cm extruded polystiren 5cm mineral wool 12.5mm plaster board Ø10 mm air holes 15cm x 15cm wood beam
15cm expanded polystiren 15cm x 15cm wood pillar structure balancing tension wire 12.5mm plaster board 15cm x 15cm diagonal wood beam ~12cm x 2cm tongue and groove wooden boards 12cm x 12cm wood bracing 15cm x 15cm wood beam Ø10mm hole with 1mm thick metal pipe inserted 28cm x 1.8cm wood board with 1.2cm end groove 5cm extruded polystiren 30cm x 25cm reinforced concrete beam 8cm extruded polystiren 2cm white stucco reinforced with metalic net 5 x (120cm x 49cm x 1.8cm OSB board) cart
49cm x 30cm x 2cm mdf board with plastic wheels
final model in exhibition area
detail of natural formations in limestone wall
Romanian art museum Type: school assignment Year: 2010 Balchik is a seaside-city in Bulgaria that used to be, up to 1940, part of Romania. Many interwar romanian architects built marvelous architecture here. The breef of the project seeks to value these works of art (also paintings and sculptures) in a museum dedicated to Romanian Art. Set between a steep cliff and the sea, the pavilion is placed at the feet of the dominant walI, protected in one direction and infinitely opened in the other creating spaces for exhibition, meditation and lookout points. Once curiosity aroused the visitor looks for its week points, the ones of acces into the museum. The tension between the natural and the artificial wall allows the study of the natural formations that have carved their marks during the centuries.
As the mineral wall is inhabited, so is the new wall. Between the two thick concrete slabs one goes upwards as in an antfarm. At certain moments, different views towards the seaside and the whole city are revealed. Light flows downwards to the base of the pavilion where the main exhibition gallery is positioned.
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underground plan Âą0.00 scale 1/50
view from in-between the walls
plans +2.80/+9.45 scale 1/50
interior view
cardboard model 1/100
Orthodox church Type: collaboration with DINAMIS arch. A. M. Goilav Year: 2009-2011 The wooden church occupies the center of the site, rotated at a 45 degree angle from the parallel margins. This way of positioning the volume is according with the christianic doctrine of facing the altar to the east and at the same time creates a series of triangle shaped outside spaces where people can stay and listen to the service. Because of the small dimensions of the church, the volume is designed to represent only the altar while the public space surrounding it the body of the church. Thus, the altar is shown to the people, like in paleo-christianic times. The volume is comprised of 3 cubes intersected and rotated at a 45 degree angle from eachother. The project proposes the implication of the community in building their church. The materials and the techniques used are very simple, the entire building being constructed in wood beams and covered with copper sheets. This way local craftsmen can be employed in its construction, craftsmen that are intended to teach their knowledge to others, so that the craft carries on in time.
The bell tower sits adjacent to the street announcing the community of important religious moments. The difference in terain level was resolved by creating a series of radial steps that lead to the garden, where cherry trees are planted around the church.
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site plan 1/50
transparency of an igloo
Warming hut Type: competition/collaboration with ADNBA Year: 2013 A shelter born from the river that disappears back into it, like it has never existed. Yet the memory of light, sound and warmth remains in each of its visitors. Bonded with the river underneath, its very existence is conditioned by the cold winter. It is alive and it can come into being only there and then. From the outside the hut tells the story of its construction. Through the horizontal slabs shadows move in the interior space. From the inside, the outer environment is sliced, decomposed, understood bit by bit. Reflected and refracted light floods the inside of the hut creating a calm play of soft shadows. The domed structure becomes an acoustical space created to hear the river’s music through the small ice pit. The artistic value of the hut is created through the interweaving of light, sound, material and space. Architecture that is no more than it appears, no rhetoric, no hidden message, only a space of warm perception.
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interior view
CONSTRUCTION PROCESS 1. Bringing the construction materials on a skid to the site: * fiber glass ready-made water tank * jointed plastic sheets with wooden reinforcing * wood slats
2. Marking the center of the construction by making a small pit and carving a 5 cm foundation space in the ice covering the river.
3. Setting the ready-m water tank (that has into the carved foun interior formwork an the exterior formwo of plastic sheets we with silicone and re wooden pillars.
Pouring the first wat the foundation, for fi formworks until com formworks have sm botton for water to f between them.
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4. Bracing the exterior formwork with other wooden slats attached to the ice. Pouring successive 5 cm thick layers of water from the river. Each layer of water superficially melts the ice layer already formed below. When it freezes, the new layer of ice is solidified with the entire structure.
5. Removing the exterior formwork. Carving a small triangular door for entering the hut. Cutting the interior formwork in smaller pieces and removing it.
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discussion on site with the architect
Bunesti workshop Involvement: assistant coordinator Year: 2009-present Working with natural materials like wood, clay and stone, the School of Bunesti explores the potential of traditional techniques by learning from the experience of vernacular architecture and applying it to our present needs, without the purpose of imitation nor with the wish to innovate at any cost. The purpose of the Bunesti workshops has clearly been, over the years, to rediscover the meanings that the natural use of certain local materials confer to the act of building and to the building themselves. An important link to the vernacular building tradition was living and working together with craftsmen, a fact that made us understand that ignoring tradition leads to the impossibility of innovating on fundamental constructive topics. The School's ambition of exploring each year a different natural material along with its own constructing laws lead to the establishing of the three different structural forms, based on the three primary materials: wood, clay and brick.
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plan ground floor
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view from the circular courtyard
plan/section/facades 1/200
interior view of the nubian vault
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sunset view of the shower
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Bunesti workshop exhibition Involvement: curator Year: 2012 The School of Bunesti was invited to make an exhibition as part of the Bucharest Architecture Annual that is organised by the Order of the Architects. The space for the exhibition was a late 19th century restorated house. It was a photographic exhibition, divided in 4 parts according to the 4 seasons, and a carpenter tool expo. The idea was to create a visiting circuit through as little intervention as possible. In front of the entrance, a wooden wall was created by means of 10x10 cm wooden beams one on top of the other at a distance of 5 cm. This wall had a double role: to guide the visitor through the pavilion so as to see the photographes in a autumn to summer order and to make a visible suggestion to one of the houses built in the workshop: the wooden cube house. This would make the visitor feel as if he were transported to the Bunesti workshop site.
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Stefan Nechita telephone: 0040769247077 e-mail: stefan.nechita89@gmail.com