Today, June 12, Deputy Prime Minister Vasile-Daniel Suciu, the minister of regional development and public administration and Alexandru Găvozdea, Chairman of the Romanian Order of Architects, signed the joint statement of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration (MDRAP) and the Romanian Order of Architects (OAR) on the development of a national public policy for architecture.
The event was held during the European Conference on Architectural Policies “Future Shapers” (ECAP) in Bucharest, hosted by Romania for the first time as the country holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
“We are witnessing an important moment, when specialists from all over Europe have debated the role, instruments and outcomes of public policies for the architecture field, thus contributing to a unified approach on these issues. A sustainable architecture and a quality urban design mean competitive and attractive towns, investments and tourism, and all these reflect on people’s quality of life,” stated Deputy Prime Minister Vasile-Daniel Suciu.
Organised by MDRAP and OAR, the event gathered European experts in architecture, representatives of central public authorities and head architects from the public administration, who approached topical aspects regarding the impact of architectural policies at the European level (habitation, quality of the public space, energy efficiency of buildings, preserving the cultural heritage, etc.) and presented good practices in several European countries.
“Since we are sharing a common responsibility for the built environment we live in (and we are spending on average 90% of our time inside buildings), defining a public policy is the logical step to be taken. But we must also be aware that good public policies for architecture require a strong commitment, in the long run, by the political environment, which should admit and provide for the implementation of the complex mechanisms required for the use of public policies,” stated Alexandru Găvozdea, Chairman of the Romanian Order of Architects.
The European Conference on Architectural Policies “Future Shapers” precedes the Informal Meeting of the European Ministers Responsible for Urban Development, which will take place on Friday, June 14, at the Palace of Parliament. Friday’s meeting will see the launch of two new partnerships of the European Union’s Urban Agenda, directly related to public policies on architecture:
Culture and Cultural Heritage Partnership,
Security in Public Spaces Partnership.
Today’s conference was co-funded by the architectural fee, a fund dedicated to promoting the built environment culture in society.
Below is the full text of the Joint Statement for the development of a national public policy for architecture:
The high-level practice of the administrative and professional act by drawing up and using public policies pursues long-term objectives, benefiting the entire society. Public policies provide coordination between the various areas and underlie good practices, at the same time achieving to communicate the assumed targets to the public.
As for architecture, these provide a framework for committing to decisions and the process for reaching a better outcome in the built environment, in terms of quality and sustainability. They are just as useful for the legislative and executive public area, for architects providing specialised services, as well as for the beneficiaries of their designs, either public or private.
This year, when Romania holds Presidency of the EU Council, is the favourable moment to be contributing to the enhancement of the quality of life in Romania. This is also confirmed by the organisation of the European Conference on Architectural Policies – Future Shapers, which hosts, in Bucharest, examples of best practices, experiences from other countries and models for the approach of joint life aspects to which architects and architecture are contributing factors.
The joint commitment made by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration and the Romanian Order of Architects, as a continuation of their good institutional collaboration so far, will be further demonstrated by developing a national public policy for architecture with the purpose of increasing the quality of the built environment, Romania thus joining the countries that are proud to be holding this target at a public policy level, in line with the objectives taken on by the European community.
The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration is the authority of the central public administration in the field of city planning, architecture and constructions, as such holding attributions in both providing the strategic framework, the public policies and the regulations, and in disseminating good practices and forming opinions. As part of the PRES RO2019 programme, MDRAP organises a series of events and meetings gathering experts, general managers and ministers in charge with city and regional planning issues.
The Romanian Order of Architects is the professional organisation of public interest, defined by Law 184/2001 on the organisation and practice of the architects’ profession, which holds attributions in regulating the profession, but also in developing the architectural urban culture (“Baukultur”), in the sense of increasing the quality and education of inhabitants in terms of architecture and city planning. MDRAP is the competent ministry for OAR, therefore it is essential to increase the collaboration between these two in order to reach the common goals and support MDRAP’s activity.
The series of European conferences dedicated to architectural policies is an informal roving event, that has been hosted, since 2000, by various countries holding the Presidency of the EU Council and is aimed at triggering architectural policies and exchange of experience between European states. This year’s edition in Bucharest was entitled “Future Shapers” and it underlined the active role held by decision-making factors, head architects, the professional community, the business environment and the civil society in shaping future architectural policies as a pillar of social welfare.