2022 Lucian Blaga Highschool, Cluj-Napoca

The Order of Architects in Romania (OAR), with the support of the Transylvania Territorial Branch of OAR and together with the Contracting Authority – The Municipality of Cluj-Napoca are glad to announce the official launch of the „Lucian Blaga Highschool, Cluj-Napoca” International Design Competition.

The purpose of this competition is to select, in order to award the design contract, the best project for modernization of Lucian Blaga Theoretical Highschool and adjacent streets in Cluj-Napoca.

The Municipality of Cluj-Napoca wants to solve as many of the shortcomings and problems that the buildings and the institution, as well as the adjacent urban space, are currently facing. As such, they are looking for an optimal solution with an average investment budget that proposes a very good management of the construction works necessary to achieve the objectives, while observing the norms and standards in the field of school construction and, at the same time, the related functions, and the urban regulations of the area.

The purpose of the competition is (1) to find the optimal balance between the functional modernization of the school buildings, the integration of the extensions into the site, the architectural aspect, the technical solutions, the economic solutions, the functional solutions for the extension of the high school in the competition area, (2) to transform the adjacent streets into a vibrant urban space of good quality.

The project’s objectives refer to the completion and reorganization of the educational complex in order to maximize the surfaces used for the school and to adapt its spaces to the educational principles of our century, as well as to the energy efficiency requirements, the integration of existing buildings into the area and suitability of new interventions, the arrangement of the schoolyard with an emphasis on as large green areas as possible and environmentally friendly materials, the arrangement of the urban space adjacent to the high school in order to facilitate its most pleasant and safe passage by students and teachers, residents of the area or passers-by and generating a quality infrastructure by integrating the walkable and smart city principles.

The Contracting Authority of the competition is The Municipality of Cluj-Napoca, the beneficiary of the project which will be contracted following the competition. The competition is organized by the Romanian Order of Architects (OAR), in accordance with the OAR Good Practices Guide for Design Competitions (edited in Romanian – Ghidul de bune practici în organizarea concursurilor de soluții OAR, rev. 2022), in compliance with the provisions of the legislation in force regarding the award of public procurement contracts. The Design Competition is a public, single-stage competition, open to Romania, all countries of the European Union, of the European Economic Area, and to the Swiss Confederation. The design competition is organized as an independent procedure, in accordance with art. 105 letter a) of Law no. 98/2016 regarding public procurement, and subsequently, pursuant to provisions under art. 104 para. (7) of the same law, the design services contract is to be awarded to the winner of the competition, following a negotiation procedure without prior publication of a participation announcement.