Director: Magdalena Stănculescu

A large number of professors are involved in the design education in both years, which ensure a certain teaching continuity: some of them have studios with students in the forth and in the fifth years, others, in charge with their own studios, participate to studios led by their colleagues.

This cross-studios involvement of the faculty could affect the variety of approaches; however this does not happen. One of the main concerns of the department was to stimulate the independence of the studios and to help the development of different approaches. Thus, sharing various experiences in the project teaching constitutes a base of debates, and it is expected to end in a wider variety of pedagogical approaches.

The Department establishes a general framework and timing in the project teaching activity, to be observed by each studio. In order to stimulate the development of individual, differentiated approaches, this framework is put in terms of general targets and timing.

The complex urban problems, the relation between the old context and the new interventions represent the common concern of the studios. The old habit to approach the design education based on building types was given up; however there is an unspoken inclination towards the study of more complex building types. This is related to other important theme, namely the technological impact.

The simulation of real practice, repeatedly asked by the students, is achieved through complex cross-department projects, once in a year. The one-day projects, the competition-like projects, are also attempts to simulate particular circumstances in the architectural practice.