Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism. 1990-1998. 2004-2012

Technical University of Cluj Napoca celebrated its 45th anniversary in 1998.

In September 2020, the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism in Cluj was supposed to celebrate 50 years of existence with a symposium, lectures and exhibitions of former graduates of the Faculty of Architecture in Cluj who won at the Venice Biennale of Architecture or the B.A.T.R.A. (and who form the majority of the winners), but, lo and behold, this pandemic has turned everything upside down and reconfigured our lives. All the courses, as well as the designing, are basically done "on-line" and only with small exceptions "face-to-face".

These pages offer what could have been exhibited, with more pathos and images, at a symposium where we would have met all the schools of architecture in the country, we would have seen each other, hugged each other and got to know and recognize our colleagues after so much time. But we must be optimistic and never give up what we hold dear.

Unlike other specializations, architecture only developed in the capital for a long time, until 1970.

Following a public debate and as a reflection of the situation in Europe (the student revolt in Paris), three new architecture specialization centers were established in Cluj, Iași, Timișoara, starting in 1970, by Order of the Ministry of Education no. 856/31.07.1970.

My teaching career began very early, in 1969, when I and another colleague, Iticeanu Lazarone, received a ministerial assignment in higher education in the Faculties of Civil Constructions of the Polytechnic Institutes of Cluj and Iasi, respectively. I received this assignment with doubt, fearing that I would not practice my profession, but, to my surprise, the meeting with the Dean of the Faculty of Civil Constructions, Professor Negoiță, told me that the purpose of my presence was to have the high honor of contributing to the establishment of the Department of Architecture in Cluj.

The pro-rector of I. P. Cluj, Professor Vasile Ille, asked me to give my opinion in order to choose the "head" of this Section, putting me in the situation to choose between two prominent architects of Cluj, Professor Salvanu (at that time he had just founded the Design Section of the Institute of Fine Arts in Cluj) and Mr. Vasile Mitrea, head of the Department of systematization of I. P. P. C. of Cluj. I knew both of them, the first one, because he gave me classes of "elements of architecture" at the Design Department, and the second one, because I did the summer internship of the fifth year at the systematization department, which I extended for two more months. I judged that Professor Salvanu was at the end of his career, while Mr. Mitrea was highly ranked professionally and on the rise, so I thought that he would be attracted by such an honorable and challenging task.

In that year, 1969, I lectured in "Elements of Architecture" in the fourth year evening F.C.C., and co-authored a guide to the elements of housing design.

The first admission was held in the Spot Hall in Cluj in September 1970. I can't forget the image when, going down a spiral staircase with two chairs with backrests in my arms, in order to carry them to the admission place, together with the then vice-dean Prof. Pop Viorel, he asked me very irritated why do we need two chairs? The first test was free drawing!!!

The choice did not disappoint us and Mr. Mitrea proved that he was worthy of the task. Personally, I was hired as an assistant preparator, then assistant, and in 1978, I competed for the post of head of works (on the condition of joining the PCR) and was given the course in "architectural theory".