Cultural center, esplanade, town hall and public parking, Belciugatele

Cultural center, esplanade, town hall and public parking, Belciugatele
Year: 2020
Studio: Arhipera, Archos2002
Mayor: Mihai Gurlui
Architecture project coordinator: arh. Lorin Niculae
Architecture project manager: arh. Irina Scobiola
Memorial project coordinator: Scen. Theodor Niculae
The proposed buildings provide ample covered outdoor spaces that offer protection from rain, wind, excessive sun. These, inspired by traditional porch architecture, mediate the indoor-outdoor relationship. In both buildings you enter a generous hall/ foyer on two levels, which provides enough space for users, avoiding crowding. At the same time, the buildings have been designed in such a way as to offer the possibility of organizing one-way movement flows in order to reduce the risk of contamination. Spaces on two levels make activities and services visible and help with orientation, especially inside the City Hall.
Although the built volumes of the two buildings are large, they have been fragmented, and the discontinuous roofs contribute to the natural integration of the two buildings in the territory, without visually overwhelming the neighboring buildings.
The esplanade is protected to the north by planted green spaces, which separate it from the parking area. It creates a dialog between the two buildings, oriented towards each other, thus configuring an urban center. Laterally, the esplanade opens onto the memorial complex, designed in the form of a terraced rotunda, protected to the south by a wall of commemorative value. At its center is the monument.
The first chapel is formed by the apparent concrete intrados and the central parallelepipedic element attached to the circular wall, which follows, at the top, the round shape of the dome, made of polished bronze.
The viewer is invited to enter the chapel, browsing the drawings and inscriptions on the concrete walls of the dome. This duality between visual art and architecture provides a pavilion space for understanding space and history. Continuing along the route, the observer encounters a wall of oxidized metal, perforated by a lighting ring. This circular element represents the Sun. At key moments of the day, the sun can be seen through this circular void, like the confirmation of tomorrow in Romanian popular belief.
Beneath the round hollow is a bench made of an irregular-looking block of marble, on which are attached pieces of wood, stabilized by a gilded bronze bar. The second semi-dome, similar to the first, has in the center of the circle it describes, the beginning (or continuation) of the previous wall. The route here becomes intimate and commemorative, one of great spiritual power. On a blue-colored concrete base stand 12 bronze volumes. These 12 volumes evoke the biblical apostles, but also the unknown martyrs who fell at the front: a minimal space for reflection on life and history. The final volume depicts a third round shape, an arch in the making, a symbol of the struggle that is still being waged, but also a gateway to a changed future. Made of a red oxidized metal, the volume rhymes and at the same time distinguishes itself from the others. European funding lines for the development of rural communities through access to culture and recreation, as well as construction funding programs, will be followed.