A life among houses and colors

Author: arh. Gheorghe LEAHU On November 21, 2010 was launched at the International Book Fair "Gaudeamus" at ROMEXPO, my latest album entitled "A life among houses and colors". As I am approaching the age of 80, I have taken stock of my life and, looking back at the main stages of my existence, from May 10, 1932, when I was born in Chisinau, until today, I have found that I have had a life unexpectedly rich in beauty and humility, in events and happenings that few have lived as I have. The brutal expulsion of my family from the native lands of Bessarabia in 1940, the war, the refugees, Transylvania and Făgăraș, the six wonderful years of studies at the Faculty of Architecture, practicing my profession in the largest design institute in Romania: "Proiect - Bucharest" during the years of dictatorship and, finally, the accomplishments as a pensioner after 1991, through the 12 albums written and drawn, through the exhibitions of watercolors and the conferences that I have presented in the communities of Romanians settled in different corners of the world. Read the full text in issue 2 / 2011 of Arhitectura Magazine.

CURRICULUM VITAE Arh. Gheorghe Leahu I was born on May 10, 1932, in the capital of Bessarabia, in Chișinău - Romania (today Republic of Moldova). The war drove us from our native places and we settled with our family, as refugees, in the city of Făgăraș (Brașov County). In 1951 I graduate from the "Radu Negru" high school and take the entrance exam for the "Ion Mincu" Faculty of Architecture in Bucharest, where I rank first out of 340 candidates. In 1957 I obtained my diploma as an architect, having as my professors the renowned architects: Duiliu Marcu, Octav Doicescu, Grigore Ionescu, George Simotta, Richard Bordenache and Nicolae Cucu. In 1960 I married Viorica Popescu, a chemist. I have a son, Dan Leahu, born in 1963, graduate of the University of Architecture and Urbanism "Ion Mincu" class of 1988, settled and married in 1992 in the United States of America. Between 1957-1991 I designed and coordinated, within the "Project - Bucharest" Institute, an impressive number of large housing complexes such as: Bd. Libertății (in front of the Parliament Palace), Calea Știrbei Vodă, Băneasa, Aviației, Lacul Tei, Calea Văcărești, Bd. Brâncoveanu, Bd. Metalurgiei, Șos. Olteniței, Șos. Giurgiului. I was responsible for the systematization of the great Berceni district and, for 17 years, for the protection of the Historical Center in the Lipscani area, presenting numerous studies to the dictator. I am the author of the following projects: the "Unirea" department store in Unirii Square (considered before 1989 the largest department store in Romania), Calea Dorobantilor and the Capital Systematization Outline (the current PUG) - three works for which I was awarded three times with the Union of Architects Awards in 1974-1976. Between 1977-1989 I took courageous stands against demolitions and in defense of the architectural heritage threatened with destruction during the years of communist dictatorship. In May 1990 I participated as a delegate of the Romanian Union of Architects (UAR) at the XVII World Congress of the International Union of Architects held in Montreal (Canada). After 1989 I was co-opted in various professional architectural bodies: the National Commission of Historic Monuments, the leadership of the Union of Architects, honorary member of the National Union of Restorers of Historic Monuments. I have numerous published articles, lectures and interviews on radio and television. I am the author of albums: BUCHAREST - architecture and color (1988, 1989, 1991 editions); LIPSCANII - the historical center of Bucharest (1993); BUCHAREST DISAPPEARED (1995); THE DISTRUGERATION OF THE VĂCĂREȘTIAN MANY (1997); TRANSILVANIA - cities and monuments (1998); BUCHAREST - portrait of a city (2001); BUCHAREST - "THE LITTLE PARIS" (2003); ARHITECT ÎN "EPOCA DE AUR" (2005), a secret diary of the humiliations of the Romanian population and architects between 1985 and 1989; SIBIU - CAPITALĂ CULTURAL CULTURALĂ EUROPEAN (2007), an album dedicated to the history and architectural heritage of Sibiu, through a cultural itinerary illustrated with 50 watercolors. In recent years, the Romanian Post Office has reproduced millions of postage stamps and illustrated stamps based on my watercolors, all of which are about architectural monuments in Romania. Between 1975-1989 I participated in collective and personal watercolor exhibitions in Bucharest, Sibiu, Făgăraș, Sighișoara. After 1989 I was invited by Romanian Embassies, Cultural Centers and associations of Romanians living abroad, for watercolor exhibitions and conferences about Romanian architecture in: New York - 1992, Ankara - 1993, Vienna - 1994, Cleveland and Chicago - 1995, Leipzig - 1998, Miami - 2000, Tel Aviv - 2000, Paris - 2001, Venice - 2002. In 2003 I was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of the 4th district of Bucharest. In 2004 I was conferred the "CULTURAL MERIT" ORDER IN THE GRADE OF COMMANDOR, for my outstanding contribution to the promotion of Romanian culture, architecture and civilization, both in the country and abroad. At the National Conference of the Romanian Union of Architects, in May 2008, I was elected member of the Senate of the UAR. On September 20, 2009, on the 550th anniversary of the first attestation of the name of Bucharest, I was awarded the diploma "In honoris" as an HONORARY CITIZEN OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF BUCHAREST. My most recent album, published in 2010, "A LIFE BETWEEN HOUSES AND COLOURS", is the story of my life dedicated to ARCHITECTURE.