April 7, 2016
A Tale of Two Cities
For much of our recent history, we imported design into Edmonton and Alberta. We lacked the confidence and the will to express ourselves in our architecture.
That has changed.
On the verge of our 20th year, Manasc Isaac Architects is exporting Edmonton design to Europe. On March 24, we officially open Latitudine 53 by Manasc Isaac on a beautiful street in Bucharest, Romania!
Why Bucharest?
Like Edmonton, Bucharest is attracting young people who want to build something extraordinary in an open culture. It’s not a “finished” city. For too long, it’s been underestimated. Bucharest has a cooperative spirit, so it is another ideal city to reimagine design.
Edmonton in Romania
Ana-Dora Matei and Alecsandru Vasiliu moved to Edmonton from Bucharest after Manasc Isaac Principal Vivian Manasc presented at their university. Vivian had traveled to Bucharest to share her expertise on one of her specialities, winter design. They had never heard of designing for winter, or any season, in European architecture.
When Vivian handed them her card and invited them to Edmonton they didn’t think she was serious. It turned out she was entirely serious. Ana and Alecsandru worked in the Manasc Isaac studio and, when it was time to return to Bucharest, their plan was simple: “steal everything we had learned in Edmonton.”
Like Edmonton, Bucharest is a city of oil booms and busts. After years of leaving Bucharest, creative young people are returning to start businesses, launch careers and build something. It has four distinct seasons, and a distinct culture. The city went through unfortunate architectural periods under communism, where leaders tore down heritage buildings to make way for cheap, inefficient, and sometimes ugly towers. There are plenty of architectural problems to solve in Bucharest, and Manasc Isaac sees it as it does Edmonton — as a lab.
Unlike London, Paris, and Rome it’s an “unfinished” city, much like Edmonton, where imaginative people can make a difference. Bucharest is an ideal base to reimagine architecture across an entire continent.
Stay tuned for further updates and exciting projects launching from our Bucharest office!