As part of the international INTERREG DANUrB+ Project, the Politehnica University of Timișoara (Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning), in collaboration with the „Danube Gorge” Moldova Nouă Technological Highschool and with the support of the Babeș-Bolyai University Centre in Reșița, organised a Building Camp for students, which was held during the last week of July 2022 in Moldova Nouă.
Following a series of on-site visits and stakeholder meetings & workshops, we concluded that the Moldova Nouă High School does not benefit from direct connections to the public space network. As such, the purpose of this camp was to help the Moldova Nouă Highschool open its courtyard towards the public space and the Danube promenade, thus creating a hub for the local community.
During the Building Camp, we focused on creating a gateway within the highschool’s existing fence, as well as on arranging a series of wooden panels within the courtyard, on which the highschool will be able to exhibit relevant materials for their activities.
The newly arranged space (which we now call „The Golubac Square”) was inaugurated on the 29th of July, with an event for the local community – part of which we also organised an exhibition that will inspire local students and motivate the community to work together in order to preserve and promote the local values. This exhibition, called „ DANUrBians: Stories that build communities”, focused on what we call DANUrBians – local heroes, who – through their enthusiasm, initiatives and activities – helped build communities along the Danube. During this event, we also had the pleasure to hear some local artists perform.
The Building Camp was also visited by our partners from UBGD-FA and EBA, and raised a lot of interest within the local community. We therefore hope that this activity will lead to many more future collaborations, with a positive impact on both international and local cooperation.
The results of the Building Camp definitely exceeded our expectations: not only the projected results were met, but the High School is still using the urban furniture we produced – showcasing exhibits on the panels. Given the success of our intervention, we are already planning future similar exercises in the Czech villages from the Danube area, as well as other settlements from the rural area.
