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Thematic folder

Arh.Ileana TUREANU recommends
arh. Vlad STRĂJAN

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caption><img src= Why do I recommend Vlad Străjan? Because Vlad is my "landmark" when it comes to young Romanian architects, the epitome of an architect totally involved in his profession and in the life of the city, inventive, hard-working, passionate, quick-witted, talented.

And because I admire him. Perhaps because I find it impossible to separate professional success from human conduct. When I see a "house" I like to know the architect who built it, I look for his words and his stories, I like to discover characters and sometimes I am lucky enough to find them. I stubbornly believe that great people are simple and generous (it's a utopia, I know, but I would like it that way), I cannot separate the work from everyday life.

As I said, Vlad is a landmark for me. At the beginning of our mandate, when we were wondering how to "attract" young people to the Union, Vlad (one of the three young people attending the meeting of the heads of territorial structures) spoke at the end when, after all the offers suggested and imagined by those with and without organizational experience, he "slammed" us with a few words like: "Instead of looking for tempting "measures", you would be better to be honest, objective, impartial, so that we would want to ask for your advice and help. And, if it's not too much, stop with the scandals, the gossip, the conflicts, we've had enough! If you do that, we'll come to the Union on our own, there's no need to lure us!". For a moment I was surprised by such frankness. But for more than three years, I have been hearing these words every day.

Vlad had all the ingredients (and the props!) to be one of the most publicized beizzettes: from his father's notoriety to the hottest accessories. But his choice was something else entirely. For him, it's all about the world he lives in, his home town, his sustainable future!

After graduating, he returned home to Alba and started working at the Design Office with his father, who was also his mentor. They brought him home to the city where "where you dig you find ruins" and where there is still care for what the forefathers have done, where there is love for tradition, love for the past, which are the defining features of his personality. Vlad is preoccupied with giving a new, contemporary meaning, exposing and valorizing historical buildings (be they archaeological excavations, monumental buildings, urban ensembles and places of worship, etc.) through contemporary actions, projects and proposals.
He has been involved in varied and interesting projects, initially small-scale, but now reaching large-scale projects with complex design issues - such as the General Urban Plan of Alba Iulia; the Daimler Industrial Platform in Sebeș; Golf Club Theodora etc. He has demonstrated an infinite capacity for analyzing and understanding problems, identifying development opportunities, coordinating large, mixed teams. His curiosity and involvement are his defining characteristics and have led him to get involved body and soul in all phases of promoting a project, to understand how the "cogs" of such a complex mechanism as the design and materialization of a project in Romania at the beginning of the century. XXI.

Vlad STRĂJAN (b. 1986)

2011 - graduate of the University of Architecture and Urbanism "Ion Mincu" Bucharest
2011-2013 - internship in the Design Office of his father, arch. Ioan Străjan
2013-2016 - moved from small to large projects
- took the "reins" of the Design Office, becoming Head of Projects
2015-2016 - Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Conservation and Restoration Sibiu of UAUIM
- he is a member of the Technical Commissions for Urban and Regional Planning of Alba Iulia City Hall, Sebeș City Hall, Alba County Council.

WORK
2013-2015 - platform development Daimler AG, Sebeș - co-author
- "Golf Club Theodora" hotel complex, Alba Iulia
- Transavia office building, Alba Iulia - co-author
- Transilvania Hotel, Alba Iulia - co-author
- General Urban Plan 2012 - Municipality of Alba Iulia - co-author
- Zonal Urban Plan - Marii Uniri Ensemble - Axul Marii Uniri, Alba Iulia - co-author
- Zonal Urban Plan - Cultural Center - Bastion Sf. Mihail, Alba Iulia Citadel - co-author
- refunctionalization of the Central Area - Alba Iulia - co-author
- Construction of Residential Complex P+6-7, Alba Iulia, 400 housing units

While he taught at the faculty of Sibiu, his kindness and honesty made him, in a short time, one of the most appreciated "profi". His workshops were attended by first-year, second and third-year students, and even students from Urban Planning, hearing that "he is a new guy who teaches differently".

In 2018, he was on the jury of the "Architectural Event and the Street as a Stage" section of the National Biennale of Architecture.

And in terms of the architect-client relationship, Vlad's approach is nonconformist, involving music, art, hobbies, anxieties and pleasures, all of which, from his point of view, are mandatory for the client's understanding. For all these reasons, both objective and subjective, Vlad, who is a talent as well as a character, is my "benchmark".