Date: 2020-now

Location: Bucharest, RO

Field: Architecture/Urban design

Use: Administrative

Size: 200.000+ sqm

On the background of plans to revitalize Bucharest city center, populated by unfinished mega-projects started during the communist regime, currently turned into wastelands and derelict structures, I acted as key consultant on the side of the client for the Justice District (Quarter), a major public sector investment meant to reintegrate one such urban wasteland in downtown Bucharest back into the life of the city. The client is the Ministry of Justice of Romania, while my consultancy work included the evaluation of the concept design of the 5 hectares administrative development in downtown Bucharest, including over 20 judiciary institutions at national, regional and city/sector levels. The concept design was proposed by Gensler and developed alongside the World Bank urban development team with input from project beneficiaries (i.e., the judiciary institutions).

The main challenges of the project were the high density of the design brief, also in tandem with urban regulations and specific use requirements (on the architectural side) and the activation of the site, or opportunities for public use at ground-floor levels, in the context of security requirements and legal-administrative limitations for non-judiciary uses (on the urban side). The development of an iconic image for the complex and its integration in the central area, including its stitching to the local network of public-pedestrian spaces, as well as the organization of parking and access were additional main topic for the design.

The concept was finalized in late 2020 and published on MoJ’s social media page to gather public feedback, with its implementation in the next design phases (zonal urban plan, design brief) continuing throughout 2021 and beyond.