The exhibition '1+21 Exceptional Women in Romanian Architecture' organized by the Center for Urban and Architectural Culture of the Union of Romanian Architects opened on Tuesday in the central hall of Craiova city's University; the exhibition can be visited until the end of this month.
The exhibition presents 22 top Romanian female architects, beginning with pioneer Virginia Haret Andreescu to today's professionals, and also highlights Queen Maria's special cultural imprint on architectural design and taste.
President of the Union of Romanian Architects Ileana Tureanu said that the exhibition was initially designed for the 2019 London Festival of Architecture, when Romania was celebrating 100 years of women's presence in this profession.
"Virginia Haret Andreescu obtained her architect's degree in 1919 and was the first female architect in Romania. As we prepared the exhibition in London, the team there kept advising me to explain how women remained the Cinderellas of architecture, how they were wronged and did not come to fame. At first I listened to them, but after I started working for the exhibition, I realized that this is not the case in Romania at all, because in Romania women architects have straightforwardly asserted themselves in this profession. And it wasn't appropriate to present ourselves otherwise. Let me tell you that the other European colleagues were extremely disappointed and said that we failed to understand the spirit of the actions. I replied that the spirit of the actions are these extraordinary women and my problem had been to choose some of the many who put their mark on the development of Romanian cities," said the president of the Union of Romanian Architects.
Queen Maria is one of the women who strongly influenced Romanian architecture; according to Ileana Tureanu, she was the one to bring the taste for architecture, the taste for interior architecture, for gardens and landscaping, but most importantly, she brought the taste for vernacular and Balkan architecture, succeeding in turning Balkan and Romanian values into an international brand.
One of the 22 architects put in the spotlight is Craiova-born Georgeta Voia, a member of the Union of Romanian Architects, South-West Oltenia regional branch, a recipient of the "Opera Omnia" medal and plaque, and a member of the Romanian Order of Architects - Oltenia branch.
Some of the Romanian female architecture professionals showcased in the exhibition are interwar pioneers Virginia Andreescu Haret and Henrietta Delavrancea-Gibory, famous restorers Ioana Grigorescu, Rodica Manciulescu, and architects with exceptional achievements in the socialist era - Elena Voinescu, Cleopatra Alifanti, Militza Sion, as well as award-winning architects of the recent years. AGERPRES
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