Team: Constantin MEDARU, Costin CĂDERE, Răzvan BĂLĂNUȚĂ, Elis HAIRI, Gabriela MAFTEI-PARASCHIV, Gabriel-Alin RADU 
Location: Dumbrava Vlăsiei, Balotești (RO) 
Built Area: 150 sqm 
Type: Contest 

A few years later, on a cool summer morning, they would dismantle—piece by piece—their place. The place where they had gathered day after day, now to be brought to life by new people. And to the “old” ones, the trees would remain, as a sign that the memories created there would always belong to them—timeless. 

We watched from afar and slowly drew closer. We watched as the clearing in the grove gathered people who now call it home. We moved closer still and understood that the place we created was to become for the entire community what a clearing is for the Codrii Vlăsiei: a space that brings people together, right in the heart of nature. We saw through the eyes of the inhabitants and understood that everything the clearing offered meant home. And so we chose to give them a space for creation, anchored at its very core—not just a place in nature, but a place with nature. 

Right at the entrance to the clearing, a thoughtful and eloquent volume takes shape—open to everything around it. A volume that embraces people, inviting them to gather, without diminishing the natural wealth of the grove. Our tools were light, air, and vegetation. We proposed an elongated space that rises and gradually opens to its surroundings. The boundaries of the place dissolve through generous pergolas, while every modular element of the pavilion echoes the vibrancy of the clearing. 

The temporary nature of this demountable architectural object was never overlooked. On one hand, we sought technical solutions to ensure mobility; on the other, we asked ourselves what would remain of the original site once the pavilion modules were dismantled, one by one. The answer was nature itself. So, we framed the pavilion’s removable elements with young trees that would remain long after the structure is gone—hybrids standing as living testimony even when the active presence disappears. 

The technical solution relies on a modular system that facilitates easy dismantling of the pavilions (dry foundations, detachable floor and roof configurations). Generous glazing maintains visual continuity with the grove, while the vertical supports create a honeycomb-like rhythm. 

The two defining planes of the space (floor and ceiling) harmonize with the untouched natural elements: the light filtering through the clearing—a soft, warm, intimate glow that underpins the emotional resonance of the entire experience. 

We focused on the aesthetic qualities of a center of gravity that sustains nature. We proposed a nucleus—an object that generates an architectural genesis: a place for meeting, dialogue, and creation. A core that crosses the threshold between natural and architectural, so that one day, when dismantling is complete, the image of nature will remain the same.