Mircea Alifanti 1914-1999

Mircea Alifanti's career as an architect and teacher is impressive, complex and ^{multifaceted1}, spanning more than 30 years.

⁷⁷²⁶². He graduated from the "St. Sava" High School in 1932 and enrolled in the Faculty of Architecture, which he graduated in 1939, obtaining the degree of architect. Initially, he worked for two years in the office of Duiliu ^Marcu3 (1938-1940) until he left for the front. In this office he drew up the subdivision plan for the Floreasca racecourse, some interior design for the reconstruction of the Athénée Palace Hotel and some residences. He participated in the studies for the design of institutes in Cluj and Bucharest, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ^building4. Parallel to his studies, he also did his military training, being concentrated in the 61st Pioneers Battalion, and was sent to the Odessa front in 1941.

In 1942, he was employed as an architect at the General Directorate of Public Construction and Rehabilitation of the Ministry of Communications and Public Works, where he worked until 1949, when the Institute of Construction Design (I.P.C.) was established. He is known for his party connections before August 23, 1944, making his home available for meetings. In 1945, he became a party member, but five years later, when his membership was checked, he was expelled "for participating in the anti-Soviet war with a unit that took part in actions against the population of Odessa"^5.

In 1951, he was transferred to the State Committee for Technique (C.S.T.⁾⁶, where he headed the General Directorate of Public Buildings until 1954, when he was appointed scientific secretary of the Union of Architects of the R.P.R., until 1959. From that year, he worked as chief designing architect at the I.S.C.C.A.S., and then at the I.P.C.T. on a part-time basis. In 1957 he moved full-time to the Faculty of Architecture, working also at I.S.C.C.A.S., where he coordinated the creation of 35 model projects.

Since November 1945 he has been teaching at the Faculty of Constructions - Finishing Works, and in 1947 he was appointed assistant lecturer in the course of Constructions taught by Haralamb Georgescu. At the end of 1948 he was appointed lecturer in the third year until 1951 and then, from 1954, he taught the theoretical course of Constructions at the Department of General Architecture in the senior years.

In 1973, he was conferred the title of Professor Emeritus: 'Professionally, he is well trained in architectural and construction problems. He is studious, meticulous and concerned about raising his professional level, which he has impressed on his students, achieving very good results in studio work. He is appreciated by the students"^7.

^{Achievements8}

Mircea Alifanti was part of the design team of buildings such as:

At the General Directorate of Constructions, he participated in the design of the Colibași Airplane Factory, of the neighborhood for Colibași workers, in the fall of 1944, he participated under the direction of architect Octav Doicescu in the design of the Ministry of National Defense building, of an 8-class school in Parcelarea Domenii, the housing project for the civil servants of the M.C.C.L.P. As deputy director he coordinated projects such as: cold bath establishment in Techirghiol, public bath, hotel and restaurant in Turda, project and execution details for the A.N.E.F. stadium, project for the reconstruction of the Saligny wing of the M.C.L.P.⁹, projects for primary schools, Aerogara Băneasa (1946-1947) in collaboration with Ascanio Damian, Nicolae Bădescu, Pompiliu Macovei. In 1948 he was seconded from the Ministry to lead the design works for the complex of the "Gh. Gheorghiu-Dej", later APACA (1947-1948), in collaboration with Harry Stern, Ion Ghica-Budești, Ascanio Damian, Pavilion H (1949) in collaboration with Harry Stern, Gustav Gusti, the "Casa Scânteii" Polygraphic Combinatul Poligrafic (1950-1955), project manager: Horia Maicu, in collaboration with Nicolae Bădescu and Marcel Locar. Town Hall and Coroana Hotel Bistrița (1970-1974) in collaboration with Adrian Panaitescu.

However, Mircea Alifanti's name is inextricably linked to the Baia ^Mare City Hall project10 (1969), realized in collaboration with Adrian Panaitescu, Tiberiu Benedek, Alexandra Florian, which won the UA Prize in 1970.

Among his other concerns it should be mentioned that, between 1954-1962, he consistently researched the main monuments of wooden architecture in Transylvania, Maramureș, Crișana and Banat, carrying out numerous studies and surveys.

An exhibition of his projects and sketches that would provide an opportunity for reinterpretation would certainly reveal the dynamics of his research and architectural conception from a historical point of view and reflect the architectural practice of the time.

NOTES:

1 Ana Maria Zahariade, Radu Ponta, Professor Alifanti's Notebooks, SITA, volume 2/2014, Indigenous Aliens, Mediators of Architectural Modernity, pp. 163-187.

2 Referat arh. Alifanti Mircea, 1973, Union of Romanian Architects Archives.

3 The architect's memo written in 1963 shows that he worked, between 1938-1940, in Duiliu Marcu's architectural office, Dossier for attestation as lecturer, April 6, 1963, Archives of the University of Architecture and Urbanism "Ion Mincu", page 40.

4 Current seat of the Romanian Government in Victoriei Square.

5 Referat arh. Alifanti Mircea, 1973, Romanian Union of Architects Archives.

6 In 1952, the State Committee for Technique (C.S.T.) became the State Committee for Constructions (C.S.C.), then, in 1953, the State Committee for Architecture and Constructions (C.S.A.C.).

7 Referat arh. Alifanti Mircea, July 13, 1964, Staff Service, Romanian Union of Architects Archives.

8 Alexandru Panaitescu, De la Casa Scânteii la Casa Poporului. Patru decenii de arhitectură în București, 1945-1989, Simetria Publishing House, Bucharest, p. 256.

9 The current Bucharest City Hall on Elisabeta Boulevard.

10 Mircea Alifanti, Baia Mare. Sediul politico-administrativ al jud. Maramureș, Arhitectura, nr. 6/1972, p. 17-30.