From the promises of a competition to the reality of an architectural achievement

Between June 29 and July 1, 2026, a unique event for higher education in the arts took place: the inauguration of the Art Gallery of the National University of Arts in Bucharest, known to all by the acronym UNArte. The main organizer and host was Rector Prof. Dr. Cătălin Bălescu, at whose invitation I was pleased to give the press a brief presentation of the architectural competition that formed the basis of the investment project.

The opening of the Art Gallery actually marks the completion of the first phase of a large-scale and ambitious investment project designed to provide the University with the spaces necessary to carry out its academic program for the 21st century.

As early as the 1950s, the issue of building a new campus for the former “Nicolae Grigorescu” Institute of Fine Arts—capable of housing all facilities, and possibly even student dormitories—was raised on countless occasions. After being considered for all sorts of locations throughout the city—usuall