Graduation projects
Insertions in the spa infrastructure. Recovering the local identity
Project description
The project is located in the former balneary core of the Călimănești-Căciulata resort and aims to revitalize it and to highlight the historical and built background. The city lies in the central part of the country, on the valley of the river Olt and is easily accessible by both car and train. The new hotels that developed in the north of the resort starting the ‘70s determined the abandonment of the original core (that followed the European spa town model) and neglected the relationship with nature, a key element of the healing process. Moreover, the heavy traffic of the DN7 road, led to a state of disconnection and lessened the quality of the pedestrian routes. The site is positioned in the vicinity of the Central Hotel, in the old balneary core of the resort and has an elongated silhouette, in the shape of a narrow strip of terrain. At the present moment, it is partially abandoned and its surface has been overrun by weeds. The actual state is also due to the level differences of the land, which make it more difficult to use. The lowest elevation is 5 meters under the street level and 2 meters under the riverfront. The main directions to follow include multiplying the pedestrian links between the banks of the river Olt, the creation of urban squares and pockets, the rehabilitation of the existing context and the proposal of functions that evoke the local traits through a contemporary architecture (the timber, the scale of the proposal). Thus, a diversification of the target public is pursued and also a connection with the city, to ensure the year round functioning of the ensemble and the authenticity of the tourist experience. Therefore, the project contains the following elements: a new train stop and bridge for pedestrians and cyclists (a carless circuit that brings the flow of people in the heart of the resort), 3 simple volumes inspired by the local typologies (the courtyard, the monastery kitchen), rituals (bathing ritual) and values - the hotel with the culinary school, the spa and the restaurant - the extension of the park towards the north and a gymnasium. The urban spaces shaped by the proposed buildings and the improvement of the riverfront constitute an essential component of the project. The proposal subordinates to the existing background and nature and inserts itself in the urban tissue in a coherent manner.
Author's presentation text
Graduate of the Faculty of Architecture within UAUIM, Bucharest, 2020, I believe that the Erasmus exchanges played an important part in my training, allowing me to get in touch both with the academic environment, at Politechnika Gdańska, and professional one, at the TDA Arquitectura y Urbanismo office in Barcelona, with which I continued to collaborate after returning back to my home country. Also, traveling and temporary living in different cities allowed me to broaden my vision of architecture and of the way of living and assuming the space in other places.
