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Radu Tîrcă and Ștefania Hîrleață are students at University of Architecture and Urbanism 'Ion Mincu', Bucharest. At present, they lead their theoretical research on the subject of thermal towns and diploma projects in Govora Baths under the guidance of Stefan Simion, Irina Tulbure and Ilinca Paun Constantinescu. As students, they won second prize and best student project in a BeeBreeders international architecture competition - Mango Vynil Hub, third prize in a Zeppelin national competition - Prototip pentru comunitate, as well as other mentions in other competitions.

46°49’15”N 9°17’45”E
© Cosmin Anghelache.
Four vertical lines rise 1,003.75 meters above sea level. From here they all converge at 46 degrees, 49 minutes and 15 seconds North and 9 degrees, 17 minutes and 45 seconds East at precisely 1,006.75 meters above sea level. From this point, the house begins, but like most points, it does not exist.
A point can only exist if it is differentiated from its surroundings. Information must be added to this coordinate in order for the point to become a place. Not by pinpointing it on a map, for this would only underline its existence. Not by adding imagery, for this would limit its presence. Rather, by reading the project’s drawings with the lowest form possible of subjective interpretation.
From that point, the roof’s seemingly unbearable weight starts pushing away anything that comes near it. Water is carried down by the roof’s four slopes and then onto the room’s ceiling where the point is reiterated in its center. Everything up until this point is held together by four square columns. However, the floor plan does not have a square shape, it is a rectangle, orienting the house towards something. A responsive something, which appears to be consequential. It sends the servant space back and away from the center until it becomes contiguous with the outside.
Underneath, a house with two walls is slowly surrounded by something substantial. It can be seen through the opening, from the room in the second basement. This room is smaller than the other one yet it doubles in height. The two walls never touch. They are parallel, protecting the house from something. Between them there is an empty corridor, a staircase and a way out. At 45 degrees, 49 minutes and 15 seconds North and 9 degrees, 17 minutes and 45 seconds East there is a place where an unbuilt house rests on a beautiful, untouched spot1, a place that can only be witnessed through its representation.
Cosmin Anghelache studied architecture at UAUIM Bucharest. In 2017, he founded NA architecture studio with Cassandra Pop and Astrid Rottman. In 2019, he became a PhD student and a teaching assistant. He is currently working on a visual map of untouched spaces in Bucharest.