BAAB is an architecture, research and urban design studio established by Irina Niculescu and Alexandru Belenyi in 2015. In the past 8 years Irina and Alexandru together with their collaborators and colleagues have developed numerous architecture and design projects for both private and public customers such as boutique hotel in Vama Veche or the CDRF building in Bucharest comprising a café space, exhibition hall and classroom, all dedicated to teaching and promoting photography. In more recent years the company designed and implemented several tactical urbanism projects for the improvement of public space. Their most recent project, “City as Classroom” focused on involving high school students in building third spaces for youth, as a means of regenerating the Urban Historical Area of Brașov. BAAB Architecture and urbanism is based in Bucharest, Romania.

Pocket cultural center - On site - We find ourselves in the historical area of Bucharest, where the individual house with a garden is still the predominant city scape. The C.D.R.F. building is positioned in the back of one such garden, flanked by neighboring buildings and courtyards on three of its four sides. While entering the site and ultimately the building itself, one discovers an architectural object that looks bigger on the inside than it does on the outside to better fit into the context. Once you go in, you’ll find yourself in a miniature cultural center, featuring gallery space, a coffee shop, and a library. The interior space is partly double height and reaches a height of 5-6 m to allow for larger exhibits. The building further responds to the preexisting conditions of the site in two more significant ways: its first floor is withdrawn from the backward property line to leave room for the foliage of a tree planted on a neighboring plot. This partial recession also leaves room for a large window facing a lesser-known cultural establishment (so the building does not turn its back on the neighbors). On the other hand, the construction pushes against its surroundings through the concrete reinforcements and support structures. Atmosphere - The lower floor is pure concrete and hempcrete. The construction materials and imperfections of the walls and pillars are left unfinished and displayed with honesty to showcase the long duration of the construction process. The slightly crooked shape of the interior space becomes the building manifesto – an interest in the process of artistic production, an object that is humanized by struggle. The first floor is more like the comfortable nest of a bird. It is almost entirely made of wood and allows for direct perspectives towards the neighboring courtyards and the gallery space, downstairs. Pretext - Several seemingly random elements stick out as landmarks of the spatial experience: a large circular window on the ground floor, a perforation in the sealing between the ground floor and the first floor, covered with security glass sheet, another small opening in the structural truss between the ground and first floors. These elements do not necessarily have a function or purpose – on the contrary, they resist specific purpose, they stick out due to their apparently absurd character. In doing so they provide perpetual pretext for creative actions and constant questioning of the spatial experience.