Ciocanul 127. Conversion of the School of Crafts

Authors’ Comment

Ciocanul 127 proposes the adaptive conversion of the former “Ciocanul” School of Crafts, a listed historic ensemble located at 127 Calea Dudești, into a contemporary infrastructure dedicated to vocational education, research and the transmission of building knowledge within the field of architectural heritage. Founded in 1899, the school developed its identity around the relationship between education, workshop practice and making. The project considers this functional memory as the main resource for its contemporary reactivation.
The intervention is grounded in the principles of critical restoration and approaches heritage as a built palimpsest shaped by successive layers, transformations and material traces. The geometry of the existing buildings is preserved, while contemporary additions are introduced as clearly recognisable layers, differentiated from the historic fabric and conceived to maintain the legibility of the ensemble. Rather than reconstructing an idealised image of the past, the proposal continues the history of the site through a new use that remains compatible with its identity.
The programme reactivates the school's educational vocation and adapts it to contemporary heritage conservation practices. Workshops dedicated to traditional crafts are combined with classrooms, research spaces, a library, archive, and areas for individual and collaborative study. Cultural and public functions, including exhibition spaces, an auditorium, a bistro and areas for community activities, open the ensemble towards the city, allowing the processes of learning and making to become visible and accessible to a wider public. The proposal therefore reconnects the original relationship between theoretical education and practical work that historically defined the institution.
A significant part of the new programme is placed underground in order to preserve the visual prominence of the historic buildings and the open character of the existing courtyards. The sunken courtyard becomes the main spatial device connecting the existing ground level with the new extension, bringing natural light into the underground gallery and organising access towards the auditorium, exhibition areas and complementary public functions. The sequence between exterior space, descent and underground interior creates an experience structured through moments of compression and release, while continuously reframing the perception of the historic architecture.
The material strategy follows the same principle of differentiation and continuity. Metal, concrete, mineral surfaces and independent exhibition structures establish a contemporary architectural language, while the proportions, structural logic and significant traces of the existing buildings remain legible. Wayfinding, signage and accessibility are integrated into the architectural system, ensuring an inclusive and intuitive use of the entire ensemble.
Through its conversion, the “Ciocanul” School of Crafts is reintroduced into the active life of the city as an educational and cultural infrastructure. The historic ensemble becomes simultaneously an object of conservation and a framework for professional training, positioning heritage as an active resource for learning, making and public life.