Dual School of Research and Design for Urban Public Transport

Authors’ Comment

The project proposes the transformation of the former Victoria Tram Depot in Bucharest into an educational campus dedicated to research, design and fabrication in the field of public transport. The intervention starts from the contradictory character of the site: although the depot occupies a central urban position and benefits from high accessibility, the site has long functioned as a closed space, disconnected from its surroundings. This condition is interpreted as a form of urban enclave.
The intervention strategy does not aim to erase the industrial character of the site, but to transform it into a resource for its new development. The operational function of the depot is relocated, while the elements with spatial and identity value are preserved and integrated into the new complex. The existing halls, tram tracks and industrial chimney become landmarks of the site's memory and structural elements of the new public space.
The proposed programme is a Dual School of Research and Design for Urban Public Transport. The concept of a dual school brings together theoretical education and practical professional training. Students follow a continuous process of learning, research, design, prototyping and fabrication, directly connected to the field of public transport. In this way, architecture becomes part of the educational process rather than simply providing a container for educational activities.
The organisation of the complex is structured around the two main preserved halls, which are adapted to the new programme. They accommodate workshops, laboratories, research and fabrication spaces, while a new central volume connects them and concentrates the school's shared functions. This volume contains the main meeting and collaborative spaces, the multipurpose hall, the library, vertical circulation and other collective functions. The central atrium becomes the social core of the campus and the main point of interaction between education, research and community life.
At the urban scale, the project introduces a more permeable relationship between the campus and the city. The public space is organised around the existing tram tracks, which are reinterpreted as a structural element of the landscape and pedestrian circulation. The entrance plaza becomes the main interface with the city, while landscaped areas and outdoor spaces provide places for gathering, interaction and collective activities. Public functions are positioned so that they can operate independently from the educational areas.
The new architecture maintains a direct relationship with the industrial character of the depot while avoiding a literal reproduction of the existing forms. The roofs reinterpret the geometry of the industrial halls, while materials inspired by oxidised metal surfaces create a contemporary identity connected to the memory of the site. Lightweight structures, translucent surfaces and metal cladding distinguish the new intervention from the preserved buildings.
By reusing the existing structures and transforming the former tram infrastructure into an element of the landscape, the project proposes more than a change of function. It aims to reconnect the site with the city. The former depot becomes an open campus where industrial heritage, education, research, fabrication and public space coexist. The intervention therefore transforms an urban enclave into an active, permeable and contemporary part of the city