Conversion and extension of the former Bourul Factory in Bucharest. Urban Hub for students

Authors’ Comment

"The existing built structures must always be reused first." This idea was emphasized in the design principles at the UIA World Congress of Architects, held in Copenhagen in 2023, where the necessity of making urgent decisions to reduce the negative impact of waste production in the construction industry was discussed. In the current context of concerns related to reducing the carbon footprint and efficiently using resources, the recognition of the importance of converting existing structures is becoming increasingly present in the collective consciousness.
It is possible that the preservation of built heritage, including industrial heritage, may come more from ecological (pollution combat) and economic efficiency reasons, to which all humanity is sensitive, rather than cultural-identity reasons, to which only specialists in the field and a few others are currently sensitive. In Romania, particularly in Bucharest, there are many valuable abandoned industrial areas that could be recovered and converted into functional spaces. This project aligns with these concerns, applied to the industrial site of the former Bourul Tannery, which is currently partially abandoned, with many historical buildings in a state of collapse. Constructions from the pre-war period (the first buildings appearing from 1877), the interwar period, and the socialist period make this site quite complex and special, as it contains the entire evolution of Bucharest's industrial architecture in one place. Thus, in the new urban hub, accommodation units with a capacity of 70 students and 20 foreign professors are proposed, along with other complementary leisure functions such as cafes, exhibition, cultural and commercial spaces, artist studios, co-working zones, offices, accommodation, and a nautical center aimed at revitalizing the Dâmbovița River.
The main action was to open the site in its depth - to pedestrians and in relation to the river - through minimal interventions (demolition/construction), as reversible extensions as possible, or through breakthroughs in the built fabric. Through these site revitalization actions, the Bucharest public could be brought closer to the fragile industrial architecture at minimal costs, in a sustainable manner, while maintaining as much of the authenticity of the industrial site as possible.
The conversion project aims to reuse an existing resource, the abandoned industrial heritage in a state of collapse, which could represent a new cultural, social, and economic hub that Bucharest needs in the future.