ALTE

Gambrinus Ale House, A Stylish Ruin

Peeled off plaster, broken windows, rats scuttling at ease day and night. And above all, the filth. Complete and utter filth reigning supreme over a piece of downtown Bucharest. But also over a piece of our past. The only part still living is the sign above the door, reading

Stop And Show Me Something Green!

I used to play this game when I was a child, I played it so often that, from one day to the next, I always remembered to keep some leaves of grass, small leaves or even an entire plant, root and all, in my pockets, socks or sleeves. Little children played it too, later on.

I No Longer Love Bucharest

I no longer love Bucharest. I'm no longer hoping something can be done about this dump of Europe An interview with Mircea Cărtărescu by Ion Longin Popescu Slowly but surely, the old, historic Bucharest – the little that was left after Ceauşescu's demolishing

Bughettorest

Just another day in Bucharest, in the year 2006, in summer. My friend, an architect, who accompanies me on my visit to a “bedroom suburb”, feels shivers down his spine. Maybe it is because he doesn’t like “the poetry of concrete”. Or maybe he has a problem with

Nature And Architecture: The Parks And Gardens Of The Capital

Cismigiu gardens, Icoanei park, Kiseleff park (see also The green within in Gallery). Many of Bucharest’s gardens and parks, which no longer exist because of extensive urban reorganising, were shaped as the aristocracy tastefully redesigned the open space around their

Bucharest – An Oddity Surviving Against All Odds

Bucharest (Rom. Bucureşti) has been some sort of oddity since the very first days of its existence. The legend has it that it was founded by a shepherd, named Bucur, and it was later named after him. Not remotely as glorious a godparent as the goddess of wisdom (the case

The History Of Nothing: Contemporary Architecture And Public Space In Romania

Richard Rogers Partnership proposal, 1996People's House (Parliament) After 1989: Methods of researching the built environmentResearching Communist architecture is a tricky endeavor in contemporary Romania, where some major actors of that era are still alive, some even

The Friend From Abroad

Clockwise from top left: People's House, wood church in Romanian Peasant Museum yard, Opera House, Stavropoleos Church, Athenaeum, Caru cu bere pub. Every time I have to recommend some sightseeing in our town to the friend/ acquaintance/ work colleague coming from

The Vandals' Academy

Bucharest, the city of all filth, all sorts of architectural absurdities, moronic and petty houses, disgusting hotels, stinky pubs… Bucharest full of flies and primitive latrines; Bucharest with no water and few sewers; Bucharest with horse-drawn trams; Bucharest with

El Baile, Ideologia De Un Cuerpo Secreto

Coreógrafa En cada lenguaje de gestos confiados al escenario hay una retórica, que funciona gracias a la alternancia de un texto cerrado y un texto abierto, según senalarían Dubois, Edelin o Minguet o al estructurar el baile como una «obra abierta», según teoretizaba

La Locura

Como a menudo suele pasar con las obras geniales que van revistiendo sombras y penumbras para luego por su interpretación acabar por adquirir dimensiones colosales y planos infinitos, El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha[1],por Cervantes, es objeto de numerosos

La Vida De Gloria Y Pasion De La Gran Cantante Darclee

Un año antes, mientras Mugnone dirigía la orquesta, los anarquistas habían echado bombas en el Liceo. Esa vez también el teatro barcelonés estaba colmado de gente. Había corrido el rumor de los éxitos en Madrid de la gran Darclée y cada uno quería comprobar en