Arts and Science Park, Splaiul Unirii Bd.162, Bucharest

Authors’ Comment

The project transforms the former Municipal Slaughterhouse in Bucharest into an Arts and Science Park, valuing its history and addressing contemporary urban challenges. Located on the right bank of Dâmbovița, it proposes opening the industrial park to create a green-blue corridor connecting Tineretului Park and Văcărești Park with the river. At the urban level, the project reimagines the river as a cultural circuit, connecting the south of Bucharest with the city center and the main cultural facilities, becoming a major point of interest in itself.

Promoting permeability, the circulations follow the imposed logic of older structures, connecting the site to important public transportation nodes, pedestrian paths and bike paths, emphasizing the idea of ​​green routes, slow mobility and civic routes.
The park becomes a crossroads, interconnecting open spaces, using vegetation as a filter as well as a buffer for heavy traffic.

The circulation between the old halls of the slaughterhouse, the refrigeration plant and its rooms, becomes the main axis of composition and the main circulation, keeping a memory of the former logistics of the industrial park, connecting the old and the new.

Along the main axis, on the right, the buildings of the Science Museum can be found, on the site of the former cold rooms. The first, hosting the Space and Industry themed exhibitions, and the second the Natural Sciences one. Between the two is the Museum Square, reserved for outdoor themed exhibitions and events.

Further back, the old refrigeration plant, one of the most emblematic buildings of the complex, with its cooling tower, becomes a multipurpose event hall. The old tower and its counterpart become part of the exhibition space, connected to the natural science museum with a light scaffolding structure. The old halls are repurposed for various uses, including exhibition spaces, a media library, an informal school, coworking spaces for artists and a FabLab.

At the intersection of all of them is the Culture Square, a covered square that reuses the trusses of the old bleeding hall, dedicated to cultural fairs and the end point of the main axis. Thematic public squares and gardens encourage community connection and information exchange.

The Science Museum respects the composition of the old cooling plant. The 2 full-height spaces are dedicated to larger exhibits and temporary exhibitions. Two symmetrical staircases connect the ground floor to the upper levels, housing the permanent exhibitions. The secondary vertical circulations, two opaque volumes, become part of the curatorial system, spaces dedicated to information panels and showcases.
Laminated glass facades blur boundaries, bringing nature indoors as an ever-changing backdrop for exhibits. On the outside, the facades minimize the presence of the structure and make it disappear into the landscape, giving it a ghostly appearance.
The structural system maintains the industrial look, reminiscent of an old warehouse.
The archives, parking and technical spaces, as well as storage space can be found in the basement.

The project succeeds in proposing a park, which is at the intersection of the natural layer, the parks and the river, the mineral layer, the former industrial park and the social layer, residents and creative communities. The project promotes urban permeability and connectivity, emphasizing the importance of nature in the city and providing public spaces for recreation, play and learning, in harmony with the principle "with nature, for nature, for the user."