Center of creation and contemporary culture

Authors’ Comment

HISTORICAL AND TOURIST CENTER The peninsular area oftoday's Constanța represents the old center of the city. It is an area rich in historical relics and heritage buildings, being on the list of protected areas. Also, the historic center is bordered by the two ports with functions that contribute to it: the recreational port (tourist) and the commercial. However, the historic center has suffered substantial degradation over time, real estate pressure, the abandonment of the site by locals and the abandonment of monuments, but also the lack of public space have now led to a destructured historical background that has lost its character, historical and cultural, but also the tourist potential. It is proposed to revitalize the historic center by arranging polarizing public spaces, according to the principles of co-present architecture, in which the past is brought back simultaneously under human scale interventions, with and for people, which aim to bring back to life this forgotten area and its reintegration at urban level. These will materialize through the Center for Creation and Contemporary Culture Constanța. CULTURAL MIXITY Constanța is a city with various ethnicities and denominations that have resulted over time as a cause of the many conquests it has gone through such as: Turks, Tatars, Aromanians, Greeks etc. It is proposed to integrate and bring them closer to the community through spaces that encourage intercultural expression and exchanges such as workshops, art exhibitions, multifunctional meeting room, commercial spaces. EDUCATION AND AWARENESS OF THE PAST In the area there are educational units (general school, kindergarten and college) but which do not communicate with the external environment. The younger generations have broken with the history of the place, leaving it to be lost. Also, the existing museums do not cope with the number of historical exhibits discovered in the area. Thus, a series of functions are proposed for young people that combine research as a rediscovery of the past with socialization. These are: library and archive, lecture and conference rooms, café-hub. CONTEMPORARY CULTURE Constanța is a city poor in opportunities for the development of contemporary artists. Thus, a number of spaces for them become necessary. There will be workshops for rent and temporary accommodation for artistic internships, as well as a temporary exhibition area for their art. ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY In addition to the public functions intended for the community, there will be a series of accessible spaces based on subscription and rent that will bring income. There will also be earnings due to trade and tourist activities such as accommodation, restaurant, cafe. MAIN DIRECTIONS OF INTERVENTION - Cohesion of the community through the creation of public spaces both indoors and outdoors, intended for socializing and group activities. - Revitalizing the area by creating a social and cultural catalyst center - Preserving and capitalizing on local identity - Improving the quality of life of residents by creating new activities and job opportunities - Improving the image of the degraded historic center by creating outdoor public spaces and restoring the commercial character of the area. VOLUMETRIC CONCEPT The site is located on a sloping plot of land, being an urban island with four existing historic houses that form a continuous front on one side of the northern side of the island. It is proposed to rehabilitate the existing houses and integrate them into the new proposal. The volume comes in response to the context, keeping the typology of the continuous front that houses an inner courtyard, the public-commercial ground floor and the specific heights of GF + 2F. The horizontal registers will be continued in the façade, and the materiality will be made of local stone, like the historical buildings.