An idea "exported" to Italy

The children of the Romanians in Italy have (re) discovered the Romanian architecture

In the summer of 2018, a group of 8 students from the Faculty of Architecture of Politehnica University Timișoara, coordinated by lect. architect Cristina Povian, PhD, participated in a beautiful story in 5 Timiş villages (Balinţ, Bodo, Criciova, Jdioara and Cireşu), within the "Non-formal summer school". They, together with the teachers from the mentioned localities, designed in the schools films in which they showed children what architecture means, explored interactive games, geometric shapes, and built boxes of cardboard which they later painted together with the little pupils. The project was developed in partnership with the Alternative Ed association.

This spring, more precisely on April 4, 2019, the Faculty of Architecture and City Planning of Politehnica Timișoara University and Alternativ Ed Association "exported" the workshop "Little Architects" all the way to Italy.

Our colleague, lect. architect Cristina Povian, PhD, currently a Nicolae Iorga scholarship beneficiary, along with Adriana Ioana Opriş, a Romanian language and literature professor at Ca'Foscari University and ”Quinto IC di Padova Donatello” in Padua, invited Romanian and Italian children to familiarize themselves with the traditional Romanian architecture and culture. The whole activity took place in the form of an interactive presentation coordinated by Cristina Povian and Adriana Ioana Opriş, followed by a creative workshop where the children decorated cartons with Romanian vernacular motifs and symbols. Thus, the young people could better understand the newly discovered information with the help of the non-formal educational workshop, which invites children from different cultural backgrounds to exploration, investigation and socialization.

The featured videos have walked the children through virtual tours through the Romanian Peasant Museum in Bucharest and the Astra Museum in Sibiu. At the same time, they provided information about the architectural richness of their country, as well as a source of inspiration in painting and decorating the boxes of cardboard, with which the small architects built a traditional Romanian village.

The event was supported by the Romanian Institute of Culture and Humanistic Research in Venice, through its director, Mr. Grigore Arbore Popescu.