The |YELLOW| complex - orphanage | placement center

Authors’ Comment

THE |YELLOW| COMPLEX - ORPHANAGE | PLACEMENT CENTER -
The project addresses two issues: one social and one urban. The social issue: According to statistical data from the National Authority for the Protection of Children's Rights and Adoption (2022), Romania has approximately 43,381 children in the special protection system. The causes leading to their placement in the system are multiple and concerning, and the conditions in which they end up do not meet the standards necessary to facilitate their integration into society or their harmonious development.
In the analyzed area, there is a lack of foster care centers and residential-type apartments. The predominantly rural area, characterized as a "slum," includes a community where children are at risk of entering the system or living difficult lives, which will impact their future as adults. My project begins with the decision to propose a foster care center that includes all the facilities a child needs for normal development, creating through architecture and design the idea of "home" without recalling the conventional forms of placement such as old orphanages. Additionally, the center will include areas dedicated to parents facing situations that could lead to their children entering the protection system, aiming to prevent this process.
The urban issue: First, the program requires good accessibility, with the chosen site having openings on three sides. Similarly, proximity to educational institutions is essential for such a center, as they need to be close to the intervention area. For a center of this kind, which includes residential functions as a significant component, tranquility and reduced traffic were important selection criteria. The surrounding collective and single-family housing areas favor this aspect.
Second, the "slum" character and the community in the area, which lacks a well-defined identity, need a nucleus that could bring people together. Currently, the only existing public space around the site is the street. The proposal for a public space that includes green areas mediates the relationship between children in the protection system and those from the existing community, dissolving the differential element.
Another aspect justifying the choice of the site on Humulești Street, No. 50, is the presence of an adjacent undeveloped plot of land. This land could host an extension function (collective housing) of the proposed center to support children in the protection system even after they leave it, offering them opportunities to continue their development and become responsible community members and healthy adults.
In conclusion, my project aims to revitalize an area with no historical value, currently facing an identity crisis, mediating the relationship between block housing and the rural-character area. From an architectural perspective, the project uses a volumetric connector to address a functional solution to a social problem.