
Virginia Sp. Haret (Andreescu). The First Woman Arhitect in Romania (1894-1962)

VIRGINIA SP. HARET (ANDREESCU)
Romania's first female architect (1894-1962)
"Virginia broke through the wall, Virginia broke through the big door, her nature conquered and paved the way for women in architecture. Convinced, dignified and very sure, so natural in her place, no one dared to challenge her..." (Henriette Delavrancea-Gibory, Who has something to say?, speech delivered at the Communication Session of the Academy of the Romanian Republic, May 5-7, 1976)
In the history of Romania, women have played, in all aspects, an important role alongside men, often doing - "even more and with greater skill" [1], but their place in architecture has long been contested. Today (1976 - editor's note), when Romanian women architects constitute a remarkable force in the construction of the new society, it is appropriate to retrace the difficult path, inherent in any beginning, to see the conjuncture in which Romanian women made their appearance in this complex field of human activity.
In 1919, on July 6/13, on the basis of the Minutes No. 216 issued by the Faculty Council of the Higher School of Architecture in Bucharest, the young graduate Maria (Virginia) Andreescu was awarded the diploma of architect, with the highest distinction "very good". It was the first time in our country that a woman was awarded the diploma of architect.
Prof. em. em. dr. dr. doc. doc. arh. Grigore lonescu recently [1976 - ed:] "Virginia Andreescu-Haret is the first Romanian woman architect diplomat, who had a very rich and appreciated activity from her graduation until 1962, when she left us".
A creative spirit, endowed with a special energy and will, a determined nature, with mathematical discipline in her work and in life, but also with great kindness and understanding for people, conferred by her noble character traits, the architect Virginia Haret devoted herself in her multilateral activity to the promotion of new ideas in Romanian architecture and particularly in school architecture, following in the footsteps of glorious national traditions. It represented a brilliant continuation, as well as an elevation to a higher level of the ideas advocated by the great founders of Romanian architecture. She was, at the same time, a trailblazer and horizon-opener for her younger sisters, thus forever establishing the place of women in our architecture.
Man and life
The great Romanian painter Ion Andreescu's great-niece, Virginia Andreescu was born in Bucharest on June 9/21, 1894, into a family of modest means and four children. She was only 9 years old, when she was the only female presence in the house, looking after her 3 younger brothers. As a child, she developed a taste for beauty, living among the masterpieces created by her uncle, many of which decorated the walls of the house where she grew up. Despite the lack of maternal warmth at such an early age, her moral traits developed harmoniously, grafting an energetic spirit onto the romantic temperament that nature had given her, molding her character and developing her natural artistic aptitudes, to grow into a marked personality in Romanian art and technique.
In 1928, in full creative maturity, the architect Virginia Andreescu married Spiru I. Haret (1892-1970), the scientist's grandson, "distinguished engineer-teacher, Virginia's collaborator on building sites", with whom she would henceforth work together in all areas of activity. And as life is stronger than all else and imposes its destiny, she also managed to set aside time for a son, who would later take up the family tradition and become a construction engineer - the fourth generation in direct line.
Her collaboration with her husband, both in everyday life and professionally, was a characteristic example, worthy of imitation, of the vast horizons opened up by the symbiosis of the professions of building engineer and architect.
Day after day, for many years, after the obligatory working hours of both of them, I saw a sustained working atmosphere, lasting until late in the evening, where the exchange of opinions on the choice of the best solution for a project or a chapter of a scientific treatise was carried out with great dedication to the cause served.
Occasionally, on holidays, this atmosphere was interrupted: "Virginia coped with it all, employing her natural qualities with a thoughtful and methodical spirit, finding time also to gather to her, in the house she had built for herself, a small circle of friends, architects, archaeologists, engineers and art critics, and to create a warm and pleasant environment for them, in a house filled with paintings, many of her uncle, the great Andreescu, books, knick-knacks, ornaments, embroidery, and memories of the many study trips she had taken time to make".

Although her professional obligations often kept her far from home, she always kept in touch with those left behind, thanks to the frequency and extent of her correspondence. With a romantic temperament, in love with the beautiful, she often had to give up personal pleasures, putting the fulfillment of her duty above all else.
Sadly, a cruel illness cut her down while she was still in full activity, and on May 6, 1962, she was torn from the midst of her loved ones, after a life full of accomplishments, devoted to her profession and her family.
The band
After attending primary school at the Pitar Moș School in Bucharest, she graduated from Mihai Viteazul High School at the age of 18 and enrolled in the Higher School of Architecture in Bucharest, founded by Spiru C. Haret, where she ranked first in the 1912 entrance exam with an average of 9.25. As can be seen from the documents of the time, she was a brilliant pupil at the school, highly appreciated by all her teachers, obtaining 56 mentions for the works and projects she carried out during her years of study.
Henrieta Delavrancea-Gibory, the oldest female architect in Romania [Henrieta Delavrancea-Gibory, n.r.] recalls: "I was ecstatic in front of her work, and I still remember now, 63 years later, how decisive, deeply thought-out, harmonious and constructively composed her concepts were, far surpassing those of her colleagues. It was the era of the great Mincu, who would not admit a woman architect. Virginia broke through the wall, Virginia broke through the big door, her nature won the day and paved the way for women in architecture. Convinced, dignified and very sure, so natural in her place, no one dared to challenge her... And so she walked through life, with talent, hard work and perseverance, without a hint of the hardships she had to go through to break through and succeed".
During the First World War, Virginia Andreescu responded to the call of her country by working among the soldiers as a charity sister.
After the end of the hostilities, she completed her studies, her diploma project on "An Academy of Fine Arts" being awarded, as mentioned above, with honors. Subsequently presented at the exhibition of the school's graduates at the Romanian Athenaeum, he was awarded the Ministry of Education and Teaching Prize.
Taking up the artistic legacy of the painter Ion Andreescu, he showed a special talent for graphic arts right from high school. Therefore, at the same time she attended the School of Architecture, she also attended the School of Fine Arts in Bucharest - which can be correlated with the theme chosen for the diploma project in architecture - being a highly appreciated pupil of the painter Ip. Strîmbu.
While still a student-architect, in the studio of the academician Petre Antonescu, as well as on the building sites he designed, she felt particularly attracted by the specifically Romanian architectural studies, which represented an important point of orientation of that era and whose influence would be reflected in her later work.
Leaving for Rome in 1921 to complete his training, he worked for a year and a half in the studio of the master Gr. Bargellini and carried out various studies with Prof. Montecchi, a well-known archaeologist and president of the "Fra i cultori dell' architettura e archeologia" society. Later, whenever she had the opportunity, she undertook study trips abroad to the great centers of universal culture and art in Europe and North Africa.
As one of her younger colleagues [Marica Cotescu - editor's note] writes in her memoirs: "Virginia came with vivid impressions which she shared with us with great vivacity. She knew how to see and understand things and people. An artist by nature, she was in love with life and beauty" .
I personally had the happy opportunity to accompany her on one of these trips to Italy. In her search for perfection and self-fulfilment, she tried to discover works that expressed the fulfillment of others. Although he had seen them so many times, he did not hesitate to linger for hours in front of the architectural masterpieces of his ancestors. He would often take long walks through different neighborhoods to learn about the evolution of the styles of different eras, engraved in weathered stone, which conveys the message of the great creators "...being in a perpetual search for beauty, which he fixed in the album he always carried under his armpit...".

Artist-architect
Fine arts. Since the beginning of her career, parallel to her architectural work, she has produced a series of drawings, watercolors and oil paintings on various themes. The works show a keen eye for form and proportion, and the wide range of colors, with their fine nuances, reflect the artist's sensitivity.
In December 1920, with some of the watercolors based on our monuments of national and folk art, she opened an exhibition of 66 works, the themes of which clearly show the strong imprint that the study of traditional local architecture had left on the young artist. All her later work in architecture would be dominated by the artistic sense that nature had given her. The exhibition was very well received, as the press of the time reported. The critic Victor Bilciurescu wrote: "Ms. Andreescu exhibits at the Maison d'Art some watercolors in which one can see a lot of artistic sense. Among the young ladies who have exhibited so far, she is the one who has the most calling. Her genre is... her own, which has its own charm and denotes the artist's chosen taste and strong temperament"... And the critic B. Brănișteanu writes: "Ms. Andreescu exhibits houses, churches, interiors, well seen, felt with tact and determination in their constructive forms". Twenty-eight works were immediately acquired by the Historical Monuments Commission for its collections, and some were retained by various art connoisseurs of the time, the money realized being used to travel to Italy to complete her studies. A number of his watercolors, including the catalog of the 1920 exhibition, are currently housed in the print cabinet of the Library of the Academy of the Romanian Academy.
Later, time would no longer permit him to paint historical and artistic monuments, so he began to immortalize them on film, demonstrating a true mastery in his choice of angles and subjects. He took hundreds of photographs of some of the most representative monuments in the country and abroad, many of which are true works of photographic art.
School buildings. Returning to the country in 1922, full of enthusiasm, aware of the pressing imperatives of the post-war period, after a short period working at Soc. "Construcția Moderna", the young architect tackled one of the acute problems of the time, school construction, and joined the Technical Service of the Ministry of Education. At the Ministry, where she was to work continuously in the School House until 1947, when she had to retire, and where she was to pass through all the ranks of the technical corps of Romanian architects, becoming the first woman architect to become inspector general, a wide and varied field of activity opened up to her. The most important projects elaborated here, numbering approx. 40, include primary and secondary schools, boarding schools, institutions of higher education, standard or special projects, etc., most of them in the spirit of the current trend towards asserting the specific national character.
Having acquired a wealth of experience in this field, he has tried, whenever possible, to devise and apply special solutions, by introducing into the composition advanced principles of distribution and comfort, and into the appearance, the sincere expression of the buildings intended for the training of the younger generation. In addition to the elaboration of the projects, he was also responsible for their practical realization. He closely supervised the execution of these works, taking part in numerous surveys, receptions, etc. Also within the framework of this service, he was entrusted with the task of studying, together with the heads of the sports offices, the layout of sports grounds near secondary and vocational schools.

We indicate some of the main localities for which he designed and executed school buildings: Bucharest, Tîrgoviște, Pitești, Făgăraș, Cluj, Rîmnicu-Sărat, Focșani, Tecuci, Vaslui, lași.
In Bucharest, in 1926, he designed the central body of the Cantemir-Vodă High School, to which the other wings were later added. The style of the building is vigorous, showing a unitary, well crystallized conception of the proposed theme. Other works from that period are: the Șerban Voda wing of the Șincai Lyceum, as well as the anthropology department, the central heating plant and the water tower next to the Faculty of Medicine. The latter is characterized by a specific influence of the traditional Romanian architectural style. In Bucharest, we should also mention the overbuilding and fitting out of the Commercial School on Traian Street.
The works in the provinces include the primary school in Socola - Lași, whose project was published in the magazine Arhitectura, the Girls' High School in Focșani, the Girls' Normal School in Bîrlad (boarding and gymnasium), the Domnița Ruxandra High School in Botoșani (additions and improvements), the Crafts School in Ploiești and many others.
It is also worth noting the model primary school projects - which had been initiated by Spiru C. Haret - with 2, 3, 4 and 7 classes, in different variants, with and without gymnasium and accommodation for the headmaster, which were implemented throughout the country.
Different programs. At the same time as her work in the public service, with the energy that characterized her, she carried out, alone or in collaboration with others, a series of civil constructions with various programs.
Among the works under her own signature are the "Theater-cinema-cazinou" at Băile Govora, dominated by a gazebo where the neo-Romanesque architectural style with arches is revealed and, also at Băile Govora, the garden above the water pavilion (Cucurigul).
In Bucharest: warehouses and living quarters for the Banca Viticolă, also in neo-Romanesque style, the Ghencea Church on Calea 13 Septembrie, the meteorological station and office pavilion at Băneasa Airport.
On DN1, between Comarnic and Sinaia, three commemorative fountains, of which only one still exists today near the "Izvorul rece" campsite.
Collaborating with prof. arh. I. Pompilian, since 1923, I have been building the Soc. "Tinerimea Română", situated in Bd. Schitu Măgureanu in Bucharest, a large-scale work for that time, with 5 floors and a vast program of interior distribution, including a concert hall with 1,200 seats. In 1926, they also built together the 8-story palace of Soc. "Cheap Housing", located on Rosetti Square on the corner of Bd. Hristo Botev. Architect Professor Constantin lotzu took one of his colleagues there to show her "the strongest and most expressive cornice, in neo-Romanesque style, at the crown of a building, built by Virginia Haret".
Residential buildings. In addition to these achievements, he was particularly concerned with the problems of economy and comfort of housing, studying and elaborating under his own signature numerous projects for individual or multi-apartment dwellings, which were built in Bucharest and in various provincial towns.
The first architectural and construction works carried out under his own signature date back to his work at "Construcția Modernă", the residential block in Frumoasă Street, on the corner of Frumoasă and Calea Victoriei, being the first building of its kind in Bucharest.
He designed and built on his own 17 single-family houses, generally two-storey (ground floor and first floor) and 26 multi-apartment houses, apart from those built in collaboration with the architects Ernest Doneaud, Ion Maier and Prof. Ion Pompilian.
"Energetic, talented and very enterprising, she was a follower of the teachings of her former masters, who were the promoters and creators of the architectural trend that dominated the building life of the first three decades of our century, a school that was based on the idea of affirming the national specificity in art".

It is interesting, in this respect, to follow the evolution of his own style in architecture. In the buildings dating from the third decade, the arches found in traditional folk architecture and in the classical architecture of religious buildings generally predominate in the facades. Most of them have a small oriel at one of the corners, the play of volumes being particularly varied. They are also usually equipped with loggias in the style of the Brâncovenes.
From the fourth decade onwards, the style of the architect Virginia Haret changed in line with the new architectural trends of the time. There is a greater tendency towards a more stable composition where, although the interplay of volumes is preserved - in contrast to the first period of her creative work, in which the often daring vertical deployment predominated - horizontal lines begin to prevail. The composition is quieter, more sober, and the influence of the modern architectural style is noticeably noticeable, without, however, the monotony often found in similar buildings.
This is not a break with traditional architecture, but rather an adaptation to the demands of modern society.
The volumetry is similar to that of the culeres, the volume is gathered together, while maintaining the appropriate ratios between fullness and voids. Thanks to this concept, the eye is able to stroll peacefully along such a facade, basking in the warmth and feeling a sense of fulfillment and balance.
The house in Bd. Ana Ipătescu 14, where she lived the last 32 years of her life, creating with the same energetic passion that characterized her in her youth.
Thanks to her specialized studies, she also created the interior decorations for many of the residential buildings she designed, also bearing the influence of her original spirit, endowed with a refined sensitivity for beauty.
Miscellaneous. Attracted by the beauty and originality of old architectural works, which enrich the cultural heritage left by her ancestors, she began her work as a young architect at the Historical Monuments Commission where, under the guidance of Arch. N. Ghika-Budești, she carried out a series of surveys, studies, researches and restorations of our national monuments, some of which were published in the Commission's Bulletin.
It should be noted that this is the first time that the name of a woman architect appears in our specialized literature. She will continue this activity in parallel with others, collaborating with the master until the end of the third decade, on the large-scale work "The Evolution of Architecture in Muntenia and Oltenia", where she publishes under her own signature a series of drawings on various themes.
These studies left a decisive mark on the style adopted in his architectural projects.
The numerous works he designed and executed were also frequently published in the specialized literature. In 1922, she was included in the list of contributors to the magazine Artele Frumoase, again as the first and only woman to be included, alongside names such as Prof. Eng. E. Pangratti, director of the Higher School of Architecture, the painter Ip. Strîmbu, painter G. Verona, sculptor D. Paciurea, the architect professor Șt. Burcuș. D. Hârjeu and others [10].
In the magazine Arhitectura, an organ of the Society of Romanian Architects, she published numerous architectural works, as well as some reproductions from watercolors, being the only female presence in the pages of this magazine throughout the third decade.
Later, on behalf of the Technical Publishing House, she was in charge of the elaboration of the Manual of the Architect's Design Manual, doing the first works and collecting the documentary material for the three volumes, published between 1954 and 1958, whose editorial staff included her husband.
In the last years of her life she elaborated the monograph "The History of the National Theater in Bucharest".
She worked as an external collaborator at the Technical Publishing House and other specialized publishing houses, for the editorial phases of various original works and translations, until 1960.
During her activity, she was a member of all Romanian architects' organizations. She was a member of the Society of Romanian Architects and the only woman on the Society's committee, a full member of the Society of Romanian Architects and the only woman on the editorial board of the Society's Bulletin, a member of the Technical Body of Architects immediately after its foundation in 1932, of the Architecture Fund and of the Union of Architects, since its foundation. The first woman member of the Polytechnic Society of Romania, since Dec. 1. On April 6, 1933, she is registered on the panel of urban planners.

Although she retired from the Ministry in 1947, she continued a multilateral activity until the end of her life: at the General Association of Romanian Engineers, AGIR, she was a member of the committees for the study of technical problems related to the organization of work, standardization of works, etc., participating in various specialized collectives; he teaches courses in the Ministry of Constructions; works at the Documentation Service of the State Committee for Architecture and Constructions; external collaborator in the field of architecture at the Institute of Romanian-Soviet Studies at the Academy of the Romanian Soviet Republic; performs technical expertise for legal bodies.
She participated in a number of public contests and was awarded prizes, often obtaining the execution of the work. Thus, she executed the housing neighborhood for the employees of the Deposit House in Bucharest, Calea Plevnei, and the building with 4 apartments for the prize subscriptions of the newspaper Universul in 5B Madrid Street. The project of the wing of the Ministry of Agriculture and Domains in University Square, Bucharest is awarded. He obtains the first prize in the competition for the project for the town hall, bathrooms and cinema in Făgăraș in collaboration with prof. em. arh. Gheorghe Simotta. In a competition launched by the C.A.M., for a tax stamp project, he is awarded first prize.
He also elaborated a number of approx. 16 projects, some of great proportions, but which, due to the war or other circumstances, were never executed, among which: the Commodity Exchange of Constanța; the Dormitory of the Society of Medical Students, Bucharest; the Central Halls of Ploiești; the Institute of Physiotherapy, Băile Călimănești; staff housing, offices and restaurant, Govora, etc.
She was often called to represent her country, either as a delegate of the Society of Architects or of the Ministry of Education and Teaching, at various congresses held abroad. She participated in the international congresses of architects held in Rome in 1935, in Paris in 1937, in Brussels, etc.
Virginia Haret's entire professional career spans over 40 years. During this time, she has designed and executed - in addition to her other professional interests - more than 130 architectural works of various profiles, being a pioneer in architecture and technology. She was the first woman who, upon graduating as an architect, made full use of the knowledge she acquired to further Romanian architecture in many fields.
An excellent collaborator in working groups, she maintained an active exchange of opinions and was highly appreciated by those with whom she came into contact, both for her professional knowledge and original ideas, as well as for her integrity and the integrity and probity she demonstrated. Even if her uncompromising attitude sometimes caused her difficulties, she never gave up the professional ethics that always characterized her.
"Scientifically broad-minded, dominated by reason, he enjoyed the esteem of his colleagues, towards whom he reciprocated. The builders who executed her numerous works appreciated the manner in which they were conducted, showing her their gratitude and respect. An energetic, enterprising and generous spirit, she was and remained optimistic even in the face of blows, from which fate did not spare her."
"The 'first architect to work in Romania' leaves behind a technical and scientific body of work, through which she contributed directly to the development of the personality of Romanian architecture. The buildings realized according to her plans remain, for the new generations, an exemplary testimony to this trailblazer of women architects in our country.
Bibliography
1 Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu, Speech at the Plenary Meeting of the P.C.C.R. Plenary Committee of June 18-19, 1973.
2 Prof. emer. dr. doc. doc. arh. lonescu Grigore: interview on TVR as part of the montage film "A Life for an Idea: Virginia Andreescu-Haret", 1976.
3 Arch. Delavrancea-Gibory Henriette Delavrancea: Who has something to say, speech delivered at the Communication Session of the Academy of the Romanian Socialist Republic, May 5-7, 1976.
4 Arch. Cotescu Marica: Memories about Virginia Sp. Haret.
5 Bilciurescu Victor: "Six new exhibitions". Universul, 38 (1920), no. 292, Dec. 6, p.3.
6 Brănișteanu B.: "Exhibitions". Adevărul literar și artistic. 1 (1920), Dec. 12, p. 3.
7 Prof. emeritus arh. Simotta Gh.: însemnări în legătură cu începuturile activității feminine în arhitectura românească.
8 Bulletin of the Historical Monuments Commission. București. Anul X-XVI (1917-1923), p. 116, 117, 119.
9 "Ghika-Budești N.: Evolution of architecture in Muntenia and Oltenia". Bulletin of the Historical Monuments Commission, 1927-1931, Bucharest.
10 Fine Arts, 1 (1923), 10-11. 12.
11 Arhitectura. Bucharest, 1919-1934.
12 Arh. Haret Virginia: Documentare. Manualul arhitectului proiectant, Vol. I, București, 1954, p. 5.
13 Idem, vol. II, Bucharest, 1957, p.5.
14 Idem, vol. III, Bucharest, 1958, p. 5.
15 Arh. Haret Virginia: Istoricul clădiicul Teatrului Național din București. CSCAS, Bucharest, 1959.
16 Buletinul Societății Arhitecților Diplomați din România, I (1927-1928), nr. 1, p. 4, 7
17 Guide to Engineers and Architects 1935-'36. Bucharest, p. 8.
18 Bulletin of the Polytechnic Society of Romania. Bucharest, 12 (1930), p. 1.179.
19 Letter to Virginia Haret from the President of the Union of USSR Architects. Moscow, 1937.
20 Dr. ing. prof. Haret Radu: Les débuts de l'activité féminine dans l'architecture roumaine: Virginia Sp. Haret (Andreescu). Communication (06.05.1976). Noesis. Acad. R. S. România (in press).
21 Arh. Haret Virginia: "Educational premises". Architectura, no. 12, 1938.
Article appeared in ARHITECTURA magazine no. 5/1976, p. 33-41








