Bucharest, Romania, May 13. Under the cover of the 2009 Edition of the Bucharest Annual of Architecture, DuPont and Igloomedia launch a contest addressed to Bucharest-based architects who will be asked to contribute their proposals for a fictional facade of the People’s House, using DuPont skin materials.
Between the 14th and the 28th of May, the Bucharest Annual of Architecture will feature the DuPont Exhibition - Changing the Face – Architectural Studies for Skin and Shelter. The exhibition documents the results of an architecture workshop organized by DuPont in September of 2008, in Italy, whose participants numbered representatives of 6 of the most renowned architecture offices in Europe. The theme of the workshop was designing a fictional facade for the Coliseum in Rome, using DuPont skin materials. The idea behind the workshop was to allow architects to create in an informal environment, free from any pragmatic considerations.
Appreciating the very real need of creative detachment – especially in times of crisis, under the cover of the 2009 Edition of the Bucharest Annual of Architecture, DuPont and igloomedia propose a similar enterprise addressed specifically to Bucharest based architects who will be asked to contribute their proposals for a fictional facade of the People’s House, using DuPont skin materials (DuPoint™ Corian®, DuPont™ Alesta®, DuPont™ SentryGlas® Expressions, DuPoint™ SentryGlas® and DuPont™ Tyvek®).
The main goal of the contest is to give architects a chance to reclaim the role of creators of space, a role that in times of economic downfall, sometimes becomes secondary. As such, the theme of the contest, (fictitiously) re-designing the face of the People’s House, works rather as the starting point of an imaginative process. We’re not after feasible, or even realistic proposals, quite the contrary, we’re interested in creative alternatives for re-contextualizing a monument that is, in itself, almost impossible to integrate in any larger urban context.
Why The People’s House? This is the most visible architectural monument in Bucharest and represents the Bucharest architectural landscape – with its many spatial bearings and too often without any major stylistic guidelines. This is a construction that represents our city without actually being part of it. As one will never be able to change anything about the People’s House, we are giving architects an opportunity to work with the less restrictive ...what if?
The DuPont-igloomedia contest will be part of an ampler project, Possible Bucharest, an urban investigation of creative approaches to Bucharest Public Space. The contest is open to all Bucharest based architects with a right of signature and to students in Bucharest Colleges of Architecture, Design and Urban Development. The Contest will be launched officially within the Bucharest Annual of Architecture and will unfold over a period of two months. Projects will be awarded by DuPont and the most interesting proposals will be featured in an album to be published later in the year by igloomedia.
igloomedia was founded in 2001. It is currently one of only a few Romanian publishing companies specialized in architecture, interior design and architectural heritage. Through its publications, igloomedia wishes to contribute to the creation of a coherent notion of public space, by providing relevant examples, on both a local and international level. Its mission, unchanged from the start, is to raise standards in visual culture in a society that is still a novice to the spheres of architectural and urban policy-making.
igloomedia currently publishes a range of seven different editorial series of architecture, design and art albums. Its best known product is the monthly magazine – igloohabitat & architecture, an editorial blend of architecture, design, heritage, urban culture and contemporary art.
DuPont is a science company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 75 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and apparel.
