About
Tur de Arhitectură (TA) is a cultural project whose authors aim to promote the local material and immaterial heritage and stimulate the knowledge and understanding of the locally built environment, with the purpose of involving the citizens in a conscious and assumed modeling of the local urban landscape. If the first edition took place in 2016 and included 5 thematic routes, respectively 10 guided architecture tours for the general public, today TA contains a set of 14 routes, two of them addressed to children, articles written by various professionals for the TA blog and short documentary films that can be viewed online.
Behind the Tur de Arhitectură project is a multidisciplinary team based on a group of curious architects, that are passionate about the history of Timisoara, its architecture and the relationship between the two, its public space and green areas, the possibilities revealed by the existence of the Bega Canal, the stories and history of people who once lived here and many more.
The TA events focus on overlooked architectural aspects but also on the interesting features of urban development, including visits to unusual locations and meetings with special people in order to gain greater visibility for the subjects and to raise awareness throughout the public sphere, because the built environment is the product of all who shape it directly (professionals in the field of architecture) or indirectly (the general public) and it "belongs" to all who use it. In this sense, we all have the moral duty to be interested and to act in a conscious and responsible way. The built environment is the mirror of the community that created it and the material, spatial and cultural product of the people, that requires our attention.
Cultural project 2022
The 6th edition of the cultural project takes place this year within the Timișoara Architecture Biennial (BETA) and it contains, along two of our established routes, a new format. Starting from different types of landmark public spaces from the city (St. George Square, the Civic Park, Union Square, General Ion Dragalina Boulevard), this year's tours will analyze their neighbourhoods, historical evolution and larger urban context. Furthermore, participants will enter a few key buildings along the routes, connected through transversal themes with the main public space, exploring and taking an in-depth look at the relationships between the urban environment, private space and the inner lives of the buildings and people having contact with them, either as dwellers, frequent users or as professionals involved in their rehabilitation.
A total of 5 cultural routes will be taken this year, each weekend during the biennial - on Saturdays and Sundays. For details on the tour start time, participation, registration and cancellation of events, please browse the information on the Terms and Conditions page.
The project, its content and the way its results are used represent the exclusive opinion of the project's authors.
