Centenary

For the Bucharest School of Architecture, 2014 is a significant year. Celebrating a double centenary of Mircea Alifanti and Ascanio Damian prompts us to take a closer look at what these personalities have meant to the idea of the school, but also to question the disciple-mentor relationship.

In a world in a hurry to solve problems and projects without hesitation, but also to communicate perhaps too directly, mentors and role models are densifying their territory. Consolidation comes from ascendancy. The intensification of role model status exists alongside each through living exemplarity. They, mentors, rule serenely over emergencies. They, the models, elegantly overcome constantly overlapping needs, alerts and conditions. They, our teachers, bear witness to an admirable professional and human universe, being, in fact, key figures in a valid, normal world. What Mircea Alifanti and Ascanio Damian have taught us is precisely in the semantic sphere of the notion of togetherness. A worthy lesson.