Thematic folder

An exceptional diploma

Thematic folder

Arch.Octavian NECULAI recommends
arh. Andreea IRIMIA

AN EXCEPTIONAL DIPLOMA

"The world has not walked, it has not moved, it has not been lifted out of its numbness without ideals. The ideal to be, the ideal to think freely, the ideal to do, to build, the ideal to create."
Andreea Irimia, who graduated from the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism "Ion Mincu", Bucharest, in July 2017, has practiced both in the country and abroad, in architectural offices. Her soul project remains to this day her diploma thesis, with which she has participated in numerous exhibitions and won the appreciation of an international jury.
She is currently working in the architecture and design studio AEK, where she participates with the designer Bogdan Ioniță in the realization of architectural projects, graphic design, industrial design, interior architecture and civic engagement projects.
Since her early college years, Andreea has been drawn to participating in workshops, developing creative projects and other activities that allowed her to express her own vision of architecture. An organized and initiative-driven spirit, she places great emphasis on the steps leading up to the project, which she follows closely in order to achieve the best possible outcome.

Octavian NECULAI: Does the ideal enrich you, does it smooth your creative path in the projects you have done as a student or, more recently, as an architect?

Andreea Irimia: The ideal for me is not a target or a place on an imaginary map where I aim to reach, but it is more the set of things that I take with me on this journey. As an architect, from the very beginning I have set myself the goal of not compromising on ethics, to create for people, for their and the community's good and to respect my profession.

Octavian NECULAI: Can you define beauty in the architecture that you think of or, rather, how you see beauty in architecture. Do you see it linked to the decorative or the composition of the whole object?

A.I.: Architecture attracted me by the harmony - aesthetic or functional - of a space or a composition. It is harmony that defines the connection between the three elements Vitruvius talks about, one of which is venustas - beauty. Beauty for me is neither a temporal nor a regional notion, but only a balance, which further expresses the architectural object as natural. Once a natural connection between the elements is established, we also see utility and meaning in what we get. I see the beauty in a country house or in details of craftsmanship or exceptional modern finishes.

Octavian NECULAI: Do you have role models to follow now that you are on your own path as an architect?

A.I.: In the beginning I followed big names to learn from famous projects; then I tried to figure out where I fit in and form my own perspective. I didn't detach myself from outside architecture and gradually I started to get in touch with what was happening here. I stayed connected, I like to find works, to criticize, to extract the potential, to understand the steps, the processes and to apply it in my turn. I didn't have idols in my childhood either. I have always appreciated involvement, sensitivity and a moral thought applied to design. All the more I have been concerned with how this profession can be fulfilled, practiced, generating a lifestyle sprinkled with passions and hobbies acquired through it.

Octavian NECULAI: What promises the landscape of our field in Romania?

A.I.: Architecture is today on open ground, with a vision that is constantly being defined. Contemporary architecture, as I see it in numerous examples, is at the same time based on novelty, experimentation, reinterpretation, a return to the traditional, etc., without a specific recipe. It is precisely this free character that I believe represents the promise that animates my constant search.

Andreea IRIMIA (b. 1992)

2014 - participation in the conference and workshop on the social relevance of architecture - "Architecture and Experiment" - tutors Haakon Iversen (NUDA, Bergen), Justin Baroncea (UAUIM), Mihai Duțescu (UAUIM) - National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest
2016 - ERASMUS scholarship, internship at K2A architecture office, Brussels, Belgium
2017 - graduate of the University of Architecture and Urbanism "Ion Mincu", Bucharest, Romania
- architect at AEK - design studio, Ploiești

AWARDS
2017 - EAAE Prize for Intensity and Courage in Problem Solving, European Architectural Medals, best diploma projects

Octavian NECULAI: Is there in your projects so far some of the fulfillment we all need?

A.I.: My fulfillment comes when a simple thought materializes and materializes in a form that pushes us to think and create further.
I felt fulfilled when I was able to convey through a project the intention and the emotions that connected me to it. The appreciation of a national or international jury validated this, confirming to me that the chosen path is the right one and worthy to continue.