The Dock at the Opera

The river Dâmbovița that crosses much of Bucharest, has been the target of a urban refurbishment project that transformed it since the late 70s in a concrete canal cutting Bucharest in two. Along the concrete waterfront, some five boat docks have been built and were operating until the early 90s as boat rental for recreation.

Although it is the only waterway in the center of the city, the municipality ignores the possibility of turning it in a public space and urban development spine. Currently, the citizens of Bucharest regard Dâmbovița as an unsanitary, unsightly and undesirable river.

In this context, we decided to activate the river in the public conscience as a public space on the water by turning one of the old abandoned boat docks into a recreation platform with boat launching pads by superimposing a simple metal structure and timber decking onto the existing concrete supports and a attaching a floating garden so as to create an independent ecosystem. To give it sustainabililty, it would become a community managed space by way of involving a very energetic civic initiative from the adjacent neighborhood called Cotroceni.

With this idea in hand, we secured funding through a privately funded call for projects called Urbaniada.

Details

Client: Self-generated project

Year, location:  2016, Bucharest, RO

Type, program: Urban design

Size:  M / 250 sqm

Team: Wolfhouse Productions

Outcome: Funded / On hold