2013 P O R T F O L I O

B O O K

by Razvan Zamfira

- 2016

hello

contents:

01 - The Rebirth of Company Towns:

How Corporations are Reshaping Life, Work
and Play in the City

02 - Urboteca
Public Participation Service

03 - Poiana lui Iocan

Consultation Pavilions

04 - Matasea Populara
Creative Industries Hub

05 - Targu Jiu
UNESCO Heritage Site Planning

06 - Dambovita Smart River

A new green spine for the city of Bucharest

The Rebirth of Company Town:

How Corporations are Reshaping Life, Work
and Play in the City

4Cities MSc Thesis

Years:
2015 - 2016
Tasks:
research
data analysis
interviews
study trips
More info:
www.corporatelandscapes.
org
Full book:
goo.gl/AKsj8N

Company towns of the 19th Century, established to explore

new unexplored and unexploited territories and deal with
social problems stemming from large cities, have been
normalised or demolished with the advent of the welfare
state. Nevertheless, changes over the last decades have
radically altered the conditions of contemporary urbanism
and in many ways paved the way for the new political,
social, economic and technological organisation of our
cities. Gaps in urban governance have given large companies
the opportunity to fill them with their own interests,
while the retrenchment of welfare state provisions and the
liberalisation and deregulation of the economy have left the
provision of social and public services to de- or less-regulated
free markets. At the same time the rise of prosumerism is
forcing companies to enable co-creation of their products/
services, thus opening up the office and the factory. Several
companies are already responding to market failures with
their own engagement and the provision of certain services
to their employees and their families, while positive
externalities of the urban environment, surrounding large
employers, have provided untapped potential for increased
innovation. All these changes are resulting in the emergence
of contemporary company towns, a model of redefined
relationships between society and businesses, in which the
socially-aware and innovation-driven company plays the
major role in urban life and urban development. Based on
a hypothesis-generating case study method of 12 different
contemporary company towns, this master thesis defines
contemporary company towns with four deeply connected
and overlapping elements: contemporary company town
as an innovation milieu; contemporary company town
as a labour force organiser; contemporary company town
as a symbolic node; and contemporary company town
as a political institution. Master thesis end with several
suggestions for further research of this topic that challenges
predominant contemporary theories in urban geography,
urban economics, urban sociology, political science and
urbanism.

Case Study Selection

1. Adidas (Herzogenaurach, Germany)
2. Benetton (Treviso, Italy)
3. IKEA of Sweden (lmhult, Sweden)
4. Lego (Billund, Denmark)
5. Nike (Beaverton, USA)
6. Novartis (Basel, Switzerland)
7. Philips (Eindhoven, The Netherlands)
8. Samsung Electronics (Suwon, South Korea)
9. Tata Steel (Jamshedpur, India)
10. Volkswagen (Wolfsburg, Germany)
11. Wal-mart (Bentonville, USA)
12. Zappos.com (Las Vegas, USA)

Urboteca:
Proposal for a Public Participation Service

Urboteca is an Urban Living Lab focusing on public

participation in the urban planning process.
The Romanian spatial planning system is still a very rigid
hierarchical model where the state is in charge of the
production of various spatial plans which function as
organizational devices to structure urban development
on different spatial scales. As such, it does not provide
the necessary framework for meaningful project based
stakeholder negotiation, a prerequisite for any contemporary
urban development.
In this framework Urboteca plays a double role. It develops
contextualized framework for project-based cooperation
and tries to go upstream, influencing the legal framework
concerning public participation as a hole.
In order to achieve this we use a mixture of, research,
mediation and design.

Poiana lui Iocan NGO

Years:
2014-2016
Tasks:
research
workshop toolkit
workshop facilitator
infographic design
online platform coding and
design
opendata specialist
pavilion design
More info:
www.urboteca.ro

Research is used to understand the overall relationship

between the state, the market and civil society in the
context of planning.
Mediation plays the most important role and is a
complex process split into four reiterating steps :
education, information, consultation and ending in
co-decision, each with its own set of tools, developed
in house
Design has a special purpose acting as a tool to
enhance project specific research but most importantly,
to stimulate collaboration between the involved actors.

The Urboteca Mobile Pavilion acts as an experimental

physical interface for our services. Its design is inspired by
modern food truck culture and acts as a temporary vibrant
public space which stimulates interaction, creativity and
curiosity for participants. More importantly, through its
mobile nature, it facilitates debates about projects exactly
on the spot where they will be implemented.

The Urboteca Neighborhood Workshop Methodology

Urboteca Workshops in Bucharest

In the period 2014 -2015Urboteca has conducted workshops in 8 neighborhoods in Bucharest

The Urboteca Mobile Pavilion

- designing the physical interface of a new public service

Key Design Goals

Easy deployment
A public space in a box
Design to inspire and attract passers-by
An open planning office
Cater to any type of public event
Deployment illustration
the space takes 15 min to set up

Pavilion functionality

Urboteca Achievements (2013 -2015)

Poiana lui Iocan

Consultation Pavilions

Part think-tank, part community center and public

gathering space, the proposed intervention took the form
of a timber-framed urban laboratory. The pavilion is a
modern interpretation of the debating space from the novel
Morometii, with the goal of exploring new ideas through
experimentation and ultimately, creating forward thinking
visions for Bucharest.
Poiana lui Iocan hosted NGO working groups, workshops,
mapping exercises with the public, as well as guided tours,
board games and activities for children; our goal was
to produce a set of strategies for systemic city change, as
well as creating a social meeting point that emphasizes
conversations about the built environment.
A series of round table meetings have deepened the
discussion, inviting representatives to re ect on the
existing practices and bringing different perspectives:
grassroots projects and local leaderships, academia and
researchers, artists and cultural curators and business sector
representatives.

Poiana lui Iocan NGO

Year:
2013
Tasks:
research
workshop facilitator
pavilion design
More info:
www.razvanzamfira.ro/
poiana-lui-iocan-openurban-planning-office/

Poiana lui Ionca

at the 2013 Bucharest Architecture Festival

Functional Areas of the Pavilion

Open Office

Mapping The
Spontaneous City

Debate and
Workshop space

Mapping Forgotten spaces in Bucharest

Poiana lui Iocan

at Street Delivery 2013
The only way in which we can establish better collaborations for city decision making is by building new
tools and frameworks for people rather than making rules that they have to follow. What weintended to
create through this initial pilot project, was aphysical interface for public consultation projects inthe city
of Bucharest.
The urban furniture proposed for the Street Delivery Festival represents an experiment on what this
toolkit could look like and how would it operate, both complementing the public space around it and
bringing people together to communicate their ideas about the city.
Street Delivery has been since 2007, a framework in which civil society, artists, architects, musicians,
tenants could showcase alternatives to the way the city is perceived and thus it represented the perfect
testing groundfor our small project. For three days, our small installation had been the host for mapping
exercises and an impressive number of small chit-chats about making our cities greater places to live.

Pavilion plan
(closed)

Pavilion plan
(open)

Pavilion module

Matasea Populara
Creative Industries Hub

Matasea Populara (The National Silk Factory) represents my

architecture master thesis at the Ion Mincu Architecture
and Urban Planning University in Bucharest.
It is an adaptive reuse architecture project for a creative
industry hub. More importantly, it is a proposal for a
conceptual framework for public-private joint ventures in
contemporary urban regeneration projects.
As the basis for all regeneration processes, it starts from an
in-depth analysis of Traian neighborhood in Bucharest. This
process determined the initial program selection, users-base
and positioning in the neighborhood but goes beyond, by
imagining the building as a physical embodiment of its
dynamic and complex network of stakeholders. More so, it
imagines the urban project as an evolving process based on
a constant reiteration of steps starting from awareness and
prototyping, allowing it to adapt to its constantly changing
and evolving stakeholder network, ultimately ensuring its
long-term sustainability.
Its final shape, required by the nature of an architecture
master thesis, represents the physical witness of the above
process. It proposes a diverse functional program, a meeting
place between public amenities and functions tailored to
creative industries, all expressed through an eclectic and
playful design.

Architecture MA Thesis
Years:
2012-2013
Tasks:
research
design
rendering

Neighborhood Level Analysis Findings

Accessibility Analysis (Method: SpaceSyntax DepthMap connectivity analysis)
High Accessibility at Neighborhood Level (pedestrian) and City Level (car)
Built form composition (Method: GIS Data Analysis)
80% 19th Century Low-Rise Heritage Protected Buildings
17% De structured Communist Era Interventions + Defunct Light Industry
3% New Real Estate (mostly offices and single-family houses)
Quality of Built Environment (Method: Statistics Office 2012 Census)
Large number of low quality old buildings in urgent need of repair
Public Space (Method: GIS Data Analysis)
Low built/unbuilt ratio
Low quality small public spaces located predominantly in the 19th Century urban tissue
Percentage of occupied buildings (Method: Statistics Office 2012 Census)
37% larger number of empty buildings compared to the city average
This situation arises in small residential buildings with an unclear ownership status and in
large former light industry buildings
Company and Industry Analysis (Method: Analysis if local company registry)
Higher then average number of small or individual companies active in the creative
industry sector (Local level density/km: compared to city density/km)
Educational Profile (Method: Local Statistics Office 2012 Census)
38% population with higher education compared to city average of 18%
Top Ranking Occupations (Method: Statistics Office 2012 Census)
Intellectual occupations / legislators / executive members / business owners
Active Population (Method: Local Statistics Office 2012 Census)
High percentage of active population (68% compared to city average of 53%)
Post 1989 Real Estate Development (Method: GIS Data Analysis)
Moderate investment (the area doesnt provide enough space for large urban projects)
No office space rental opportunities catered to small/individual companies
Local Rent Market (Method: data scrapping of online real estate websites)
Lower office space rents compared to other central neighborhoods (9 euro/sqm - 25 euro/
sqm) in low quality old buildings or former industrial sites
Conclusions & Resulting Design Brief
Promote the creative industry sector as a local asset and specificity
OBJECTIVE
Provide low-rent quality office space.
Enhance small business economic efficiency.

SOLUTION
Reuse of existing light industry structures
Provide catered
infrastructure

business

incubation/acceleration

Bridge the gap between creativities and the

production, marketing and distribution services.

Provide amenities ranging from office to production

spaces.

Ensure sustainable long-term development.

Develop a network of private and public stakeholders (e.g

universities, local government and real-estate developers)

Stakeholder Interviews
Method: A series of 30 semi-structured interviews with relevant local stakeholders in
the field of urban development, higher education, real estate and creative industries
The creative industry sector can represent the next big thing for our capital city
but unfortunately the current birocratic structures are not equipped to tackle the
complexity and interdisciplinary of the subject
Liviu Ianasi - Bucharest 2035 Development Strategy

The market for office spaces doesnt register the same growth as back in 2006-2008
so we are looking for new types of markets were we can invest
Affan Yildirim - Real Estate specialist at Anchor Group

There is a clear lack of support in starting a new business here in Bucharest and as
creativities finish their university studies, they are left up to their auto-didactic process
of trial and error when trying to start a business
Mihnea Gibus - founder at Dizainar
Network Analysis of Potential Stakeholders
Method: data visualization of interviews in Gephy, a network analysis software
Conclusion: clear lack of cross sector collaboration which can be enhanced through a joint regeneration
project

Development Time-line & Functions

Targu Jiu:
UNESCO Heritage Site Planning

Targu Jiu is a small town in south-western Romania facing

the common problem of depopulation and lack of economic
development opportunities which can be seen all across the
country in similarly remote areas. Its main advantage is that
it is host to a spectacular sculptural ensemble designed by
the famous Romanian-French sculptor Constantin Brancusi
which has the potential to transform it into a local touristic
hub for the entire Oltenia region.

For years the city has been struggling to list the ensemble as
a UNESCO World Heritage Site but although the area has
an unquestionable cultural value the project was rejected
due to inexistent tourist management plans, lack of a clear
economic strategy as well as clear guidelines for heritage
protection.
As part of PZP Arhitectura, we were commissioned to
create a brief for a future urban design competition which
will transform the axis that joins the three monuments
together into a vibrant tourist and economic attraction
while maintaining its traditional character which many say
was an important part of the monumental ensemble initial
conception.

PZP Architecture
Office
Year:
2013
Tasks:
research
data analysis
strategic proposals
illustration design

For the redevelopment part of the project, our team

identified important areas that need restructuring either due
to pedestrian/car traffic requirements or in order to enhance
their existing public space potential.

01. Proposed visiting routs

02. Analysis of potential

economic development pols

Redevelopment plan

03. Car traffic fluidization

04. Protected areas around

the Brancusi site

Dambovita Smart River

A New Green Spine for the city of Bucharest

Dambovita Smart River started from the realisation that

one of Romanias biggest competitive assets in the global
economy is its natural environment, large natural forest
areas in the mountains, complex wet ecosystems in the
Danube Delta, large agricultural fields in disuse, and so on.
A wide variety of natural environments, which ironically are
excluded from the day by day routines of Bucharest.
Dambovita, once entering in the city becomes an aqueduct
without much background of its formal trajectory from the
mountains. Hereby remains a latent possibility for future
development: The need to rethink the river profile as a spine
for a new ecological approach. However, by ecological we
mean not only the strategic use of the natural environment
as a tool to reshape the cityscape, but also the functions, the
economics, and the social components.
These are the aims of Dambovita Smart River platform, a
coalition of private and civil society organisation who works
on increasing public awareness regarding the rivers potential
for the wider urban development, introducing the subject in
the municipality priority list and ultimately developing the
strategic points outlined in our common vision document.

Poiana lui Iocan NGO

Duration:
2015 - 2016
Tasks:
research
data analysis
strategic proposals
illustration design
More info:
www.dambovitasmart.ro

Strategic Opportunities
To rethink the Dambovita landscape not as a background scenario, but as a surface, a complex
urban ecosystem based on the interaction of different spatial structures (natural and artificial
infrastructures), functions, programs and urban actors (citizens, users, visitors and developers);
To build up a process of intervention which takes into consideration the sites strengths, such as
the existing real estate developments, retail, cultural and educational institutions on its borders,
and the capacity to extend this programs through and towards the river.
To generate a grid based strategy, analysing the possibilities of creating new corridors and
enhancing the current ones using the existing actors and their potential to modify their
surrounding environments.

The River and the City

Dambovita in Bucharest

Accessibility Analysis

Permeability Analysis

Project Outcomes
Since the summer of 2015, Dambovita Smart River platform has organised a series of public events
trying to raise awareness and enlarge its initial network of members.
In June 2015 we organised the first edition of UrbanFest, a festival devoted to discussing contemporary
topics of urban development. The event was developed in partnership with the European Commission
and had two main components, a series of conferences and debates with public authorities and
international speakers (London Legacy Development Corporation) and a public event, a marketplace
for ideas promoting sustainability and urban ecological awareness, organised by our partner NGOs.
The success of the event and the interest manifested by participants led us to develop a proposal
for a physical intervention on the river, which would showcase the potential of water in the city.
The proposal, a floating bridge and promenade was partially funded through a crowdfunding
campaign and demonstrated how the involvement of different stakeholders, from citizens to
private entities could cooperatively contribute to a better urban environment which includes the
water.
In 2016 we organised the exhibition Romania Powered by Nature which showcased different
projects trying to use the natural environment as an economic, cultural and social asset and
tool for regional redevelopment. The exhibition which lasted for 2 months was also the host of
different round table debates and conferences which further enlarged our pool of stakeholders,
now covering also national government organisations.
As a consequence of all our actions from the past two years, Dambovita Smart River was
acknowledged as a strategic project for the local municipality and has been included as a in
the 2021 Capital of Culture bid proposal forwarded by the city of Bucharest.

Lets Get
in Touch

www.razvanzamfira.ro
razvan.zamfira@gmail.com
@RazvanZamfira

I am an architecture and urban planning graduated at

Ion Mincu University in Bucharest with a MA thesis on
brownfeld redevelopment through adaptive reuse. Currently
Im a student of Erasmus Mundus Master program in
Urban Studies, a unique two-year interdisciplinary and
international program in urban studies.
I am the founding member of Poiana lui Iocan Association,
a nonprofit think-tank in Bucharest bridging together
architecture and design practice and research and mediation
for community engagement. Recently our focus has shifted
from place-specif interventions to a broader data driven
research on cities. We are interested in exploring the
potential of open data and tech as a means to complement
our existing practice and in order to engage other professions
in complex aspects of urban development. In order to do so
we created Urboteca, an itinerant pop-up pavilion which
showcases city data analysis and explores new tools for
engaging in urban issues.
I am curious and creative, but analytical. I am always
working on projects that have the potential to build new
cross-sector collaborations and strongly believe in the need
to reexamine our institutional problem-solving mechanisms
and the way researchers interact with their audience through
data visualization, IT, and applied, field based research.