Thematic file

Competitions in Cluj-Napoca

Thematic folder

COMPETITIONS IN CLUJ-NAPOCA
text: Vasile MITREA

At the transition between the fourth and fifth decades of the 20th century, at the level of the Romanian Architects' Association/SAR, the competitions were intended to allow the commissioners to overcome some of the solutions that had become derisory, and in the case of international ^{confrontations1}, they became "... a means of verifying national values and of stimulating national architects and increasing their creative powers"^2. During the socialist period, the pragmatic criterion was to be supplemented by the political one, i.e. the affirmation of the "superiority" of the new regime over the previous ones, but the number of competitions was much reduced and the international character did not become common practice.
After 1990, national and international competitions will become topical again, they will retain their pragmatic character, but the two criteria - "cheapest" and "shortest time for completion" - will often influence the decisions of promoters, and this aspect should not be neglected by professional associations. Why not? Because although these competitions are generally requested by central or local public institutions, and the much-trumpeted "sustainable development" has become almost a slogan, they are generally aimed at "from today to tomorrow" concepts or solutions, forgetting that we are confronted with the fast pace of the IT/information civilization, the conditions of globalization and the maintenance of ecological balance.
Returning to the case of the municipality of Cluj-Napoca, it should be noted that, in contrast to previous periods - the ^inter-war3 and ^socialist4 periods - it can be said that the city has benefited from much more attention from the local administration in terms of its development, opting for the promotion of ideas/concepts or even solutions resulting from professional confrontations - competitions. These would fall into three categories: at local level (organized by the County Design Institute) and at national and international level.
At the local level, generally promoted by the county administration (which patronized the Institute's activity), the following are worth mentioning: the competition for the location of the current Belvedere Hotel5, the competition for the location of the Trade Union Cultural Centre, the competition for the restructuring of the "Timotei Cipariu" Square (an unhealthy area located in the very central part of the city) and the competition for the realization (political stage commander) of the new Civic Centre (1980). If the first competition decided the location of the hotel on the Cetățuia Hill, the next two were not finalized, and the last one, due to a local policy that did not want a brutal intervention in the historical area, was postponed until 1989. A national competition after 1990 was dedicated to the location and realization of the monument dedicated to Avram Iancu, an intention dating back to the interwar period.
The first competition for the DESIGN OF A PEDESTRIAN ZONE IN THE CENTER OF CLUJ-NAPOCA (2005-2006) aimed to revitalize the urban image, the theme asking the competitors to decongest the central core of the traffic6 , to restore pedestrian rights and to create a multifunctional public space that would be attractive and multifunctional in line with contemporary demands. The desires have already been satisfied (since 2010), but the reduction of the study area (by theme) only within the limits of the public domain (a requirement that will no longer be mandatory for other competitions) will deprive the City Hall of receiving suggestions for connecting to the neighboring fabric, to involve in revitalization, in the general environment and semi-public space of the courtyards (on the lots connecting two streets), which would have brought an added attractiveness and urban identity. Another heritage competition was the revitalization of the POMPIERILOR'S TOWER (the former weavers' bastion in the 15th century fortified enclosure), which had been vertically extended in the 19th and 20th centuries7 and had reached a state of abandonment. However, I believe that before the competition was launched, a detailed study of the square/island on which the tower is located (as recommended by Gustavo Giovannoni in the case of cities with a rich historical heritage) would have been necessary in order to deduce to what extent this urban island, together with the tower and the presence of the Canal of the Moors (1558), could have become a testimony (through a skilful overall thinking) of a certain stage in the history of the city, resulting in a phased strategy. In the case of the competition of solutions for the FURNISHING of the Citadel, i.e. of the spur of the Citadel hill, where in the 18th century the Citadel was built to house the Austrian garrison, the interest of the theme focuses mainly on the area surrounding the fortification, since the interior of the former enclosure became, after 1990, step by step, private property8, although we are dealing with a category A ensemble. However, we have pointed out in the media that the eastern part of the Cetățuia Hill is a vantage point of the city, located about 60 m above the medieval core9; it is also part of a continuous series of green spaces10, it is part of the silhouette of the city (the crest of the Hoia-Cetățuia hills) and is also a node in the urban structure. Also in the field of architectural-urban heritage is the competition URBAN IMPROVEMENT STR. KOGĂLĂLNICEANU, STR. UNIVERSITY AND ADJACENT STREETS, which will seek to prevent aggressive interventions11 and, at the same time, to minimize car traffic in favor of pupils, students and tourists frequenting the area, to ensure the preservation of the valuable built heritage (with many heritage listed buildings) and to enhance the particular environmental potential of this street inherited from the medieval period. With regard to the attitude towards the city's centuries-old heritage (with archaeological evidence dating back to the Roman occupation), it is questionable that, compared to other historic cities, Cluj-Napoca does not yet have a protected area urban plan/P.U.Z. C.P. for the area known as the 'Historic Center', which is only governed by the regulations of the General Urban Plan/P.U.G.
A competition that started from the need to build a headquarters for the Philharmonic Orchestra (which still carries out its activities in the Academic College, a building belonging to the "Babeș-Bolyai" University), but which then expanded its thematic to the realization of the TRANSILVANIA CULTURAL CENTER/C.C.T., eventually remained useless11. The lack of continuity in urban policy has led, in this case, to the loss of non-reimbursable financial funds (Norwegian ones, committed), to the reduction of the land surface area for the C.C.T. (1,500 square meters are currently being given up), to the postponement of a "flagship objective" (the European Center of Contemporary Art) and to the non-edification of the Philharmonic's headquarters, the last two objectives being part of the city's identity.
Two other competitions are also part of promoting the identity of the municipality. The first competition of solutions aims (in 2017) to REVITALIZE the ROMULUS VUIA ETNOGRAPHIC PARK - HOIA FOREST. The launching of the competition took into account the situation that although it is an objective of national importance, unlike similar museums in other countries, the number of visitors is still quite low, affecting sustainability. In order to revitalize the museum, it was asked to consider a series of activities that would make it accessible to visitors for as long as possible (fairs, shows, popular festivals, handicraft production, workshops, creative camps, etc.).At the same time, the presence of the Hoia Forest should not be neglected, and the city's recreational areas should be attractive to visitors (including in the snow season, for tobogganing and skiing). As regards recreation, the connection with the ridge of the Cetățuia Hill is recommended, and I would also add a functional extension to the west. Moreover, the documentation currently being drawn up has also taken on board some of the proposals and it would be necessary, with the endorsement of the project, to establish a legal status for the area, so as to avoid the loss of land, as in the case of the development of the Tetarom I Industrial Park.
For its part, the international solutions competition REVITALIZING AND ACTIVATING THE RAILWAY PARK (in reality a public garden of 5.4 ha) will (after 2018) not only aim to revitalize its leisure function12 , but also to integrate it organically into the green-blue corridor of the Someș Mic (project currently in the D.T.A.C. phase), without forgetting the relations with the other neighbourhoods and without avoiding another of the theme's desires: to achieve a certain identity.
Also in the field of "green spaces" (an area that has been lacking in the city and without any additions in the last 30 years!), but this time on a macro scale, the international solutions competition (the first to be won by a foreign team from Spain) RETHINKING SOMEȘ (Rethinking the course of the Someș river) is also part of the project. The need to define the role of this course within the urban structure we have been signaling since the 1980s, as vital for the ecosystem, but also for urban comfort, but the first approach at the level of the City Hall is this competition, which led to the preparation of the technical documentation in 2019. The theme only had in mind the length of the course in the intravilan (when the implications upstream and downstream of the city, not negligible!?) and only concerned the public domain and, arguably at the first stage of intervention, the western half of the course, i.e. where there is already development. Why was the eastern half not tackled first, where there is still an aggressive un-anthropized natural setting, where investments can still be stopped along the banks and where the Nadăș, Chinteni and Murători streams can introduce nuclei of interest? Is it not the case that a rigid delimitation (land owned by the city council) will cancel out many of the chances of the Someș river becoming the major thorn in the municipality's recreational system?
The latest international competition for solutions, in the last 30 years (launched in 2019), is the one entitled PLAN URBANÍSTIC ZONAL - SOPOR MASTERPLAN. The 240 ha (dominated by private property) is to provide the housing stock for a population of around 50,000-70,000 inhabitants. In addition to this accommodation capacity (with a diversified range of apartments), another intention is to create a model quality of life neighborhood that takes into account "the European dimension of Cluj" (Mayor Emil Boc's wish). There are favorable conditions for a high level of urban comfort and perhaps also for achieving a certain identity, but I do not know whether the jury really took into account, in the success of this experiment, the importance of the way in which the dialogue with the private sector will proceed and the concept of the implementation strategy, which may bring many surprises that are difficult to overcome.
Thirty years have passed in the new political context and there is a growing desire to follow the trends of contemporary practice, but the effects of globalization, of the fast pace of the information civilization (when any departure from its demands can lead to negative effects), of climate conditions, of a viable ecosystem, etc. cannot be neglected. And yet there are cases where even major investments are still being left to tenders where bids are sorted on the basis of the 'cheapest and quickest' criteria, not qualitative performance, forgetting that what is cheapest today may not be suitable tomorrow and maintenance may far exceed the expected funding. Failing to keep up with the new requirements means that in the not too distant future a locality may be excluded from the regional economic circuit, resulting in decline and depopulation.
Returning to Cluj-Napoca, it should not be overlooked that in recent years the local administration has started to think beyond day-to-day requirements, to be receptive to community suggestions13 and to increasingly aspire to the status of a 'smart city', and this aspiration is also being supported by some NGOs. Of course, a dynamic factor is also the current leadership's desire to give the municipality a distinct identity in the national context. Thus was born the collaboration with the Transylvania Branch of the Romanian Order of Architects in organizing competitions, popularizing successes (Biennales) and triggering debates that create, over time, that attachment of the community, which will not remain indifferent to setting the course for the future. Competitions, as well as publicizing them to the community, anticipating them through effective public debates with the population, and following up the results on the ground must not only be a matter for the administration, but also for professional organizations in tandem with the media.

NOTES

1 The first international competition organized by the Association of Romanian Architects/SAR was the 1889 competition for the CFR Direction Palace.
2 "Arhitectura" magazine, 1991, p. 13 (issue dedicated to the semicentenary of the founding of the SAR 1891-1941)
3 In the case of Cluj, a competition was organized for the construction of the Orthodox Cathedral (completed in 1935); in 1939, a competition for the city's systematization plan (both sponsored by the Romanian Architects' Society); in 1910, a competition was organized for the location of the new City Hall, but the initiative was resumed before 1940 and in 1942.
4 In the socialist period, the only national competition was the one for the systematization of the Mărăști Square (6), considered as a future pole of interest for the city.
5 Initially, a school of the Craftsmen's Cooperative was planned.

6 Due to the mononuclear urban structure, in the central area and especially in the Union Square, both the current traffic between the neighborhoods and the transit traffic suffered, with the ring roads/columns being at the level of intention/plan.
7 The Bastion built about 1475, would be raised by one level in 1574 (for the defense requirements of the time), in 1880 would receive two more levels in the service of the firemen (until 1936), and would be rehabilitated in 1980 to become the Firemen's Museum.
8 The City Hall is currently making (belated) efforts to partially recover the real estate on the premises.
9 The position offers a 230° skyline of the city.
10 The Cetățuia hill is the point of articulation between the Hoia-Cetățuia ridge trail and the green-blue corridor of the Someșului Mic.
11 The first location for the headquarters of the Philharmonic was proposed in the "Ghe. Barițiu", by enlarging the space at the pavilion of the Casino and deforestation in the neighborhood, an intention that aroused public protests and was therefore abandoned. Then came the City Hall's desire to participate in the competition to become European Capital of Culture in 2021, including the creation of the European Center of Contemporary Art among the city's assets, but the competition was won by Timisoara. The new situation meant that, after the end of the competition, the City Hall's interest in the C.C.T. (where the facilities were grouped: philharmonic, conference center, cultural center and the headquarters of the Conservatory "Ghe. Dima" Conservatory) to diminish a lot. At present, an investor is being sought to whom a part of the C.C.T. land would be leased in order to realize financial sources to start the planned investments.
12 Over time, the "Railwaymen's Park" has been: the space where the cattle fair used to take place; a randomly planted space for riverside residents; a landscaped garden with a path for a children's "train"; host to a soccer field. After 2017 it came under the City's administration.
13 For several years the process of "participatory budgeting" (citizens having the right to make annual proposals on the investments they consider to be a priority and the City Hall selecting those that deserve to receive funding) has become a "common practice" in Cluj-Napoca.