CLUJ NEW COUNTY COUNCIL – COMPETITION

As an extension of the existing County Council, the new building communicates directly with the current headquarters but also connects the two levels of the existing landscape – Dorobanti Street and Episcopal Nicholas Ivan Street through a sculptural structure, thereby enhancing urban space. The intention to place a promenade connecting and overlooking both the city level and at the upper level, comes from the need to bring public space closer to an administrative function, to change its rigid interface and to act as an indispensable connector for the two major functions: the County Council and the Library, stimulating the interaction of these programs.

URBAN BALCONY

Integrated into the existing sloping landscape, the proposal is subtle in the form of three plaques joined by this spiral staircase. The level of the ground floor (or the first platform) has the role of better highlighting the main entrance of the Actual Siege and announcing the public space of the superior platforms. The visibility of the signal-scale element is given on the one hand by its tectonic monumentality, by the appearance of a tile in the field, and by the sharp angle orientation towards Marasesti Square.

INNER RUN

The intervention consists of two functional areas – one related to the offices directly connected with the County Headquarters and a public one with a cultural-educational aspect.

The accesses were placed according to the accessibility and priority of the public relations needs of the County Council: the present entrance of the headquarters still represents the main access to the premises in terms of the direct interest with the given function, but a series of secondary access to public space at the level of the second platform, serving the general public – the information point with distribution to the exhibition hall and the multifunctional hall located on the ground floor, then the café and the Public Relations Office.

Reconfiguration of the ground floor aims at presenting a public accessible and legible public space with regard to the connection with the new body, where the first Public Relations Office is located, in close connection with the one from the first floor, then the foyer and the multifunctional hall with related functions, conference room and office. The foyer is a connecting node between the functions of the ground floor, but also connects the two floors, respectively.

The first floor responds mostly to public space through a café, the second Public Relations Office and the office area. The café also extends on the next floor, enjoying an indoor terrace, and the office area extends both on this floor and on the next floor.

Given this mix of public-private functions, the demarcations between the two are semi-opaque, with office space being bruised by brissoleils and vegetation.

SUSTAINABLE PRINCIPLES

The building has been designed with a high level of sustainable principles to maximize comfort and reduce the impact on the environment. The existing building being the tallest of all, south-facing photovoltaic panels have been placed on the top-floor terrace to achieve the highest possible efficiency. The meteoric waters are taken up, treated and stored in a water basin, along with gray water, which is treated and stored, which is used to irrigate the terraces and green walls through an autonomous system.

The shading system is given once by the brissoleils and vegetation attached to the eastern body, but also by the perimeter retraction of the curtain walls over the upper plate boundary to limit the amount of light.

The heating and cooling system is a heat pump, and an energy recuperator.