F.I.D. manifested within the boundaries of a participatory architectural installation and the fair play rules of sports. It featured a multi-functional scaffolding and a mini-soccer field made out of natural grass. During its existence it hosted planned events or spontaneous activities and a football tournament that featured 16 teams of gender mixed amateur players of all ages, from the neighborhood. The project aimed to foster community cohesion and to create lasting memories among participants
Local
Romania
Timișoara, Romania
Mainly urban
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
2022-10-21
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Casa Jakab Toffler Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Gabriel Last name of representative: Boldiș Gender: Male Nationality: Romania If relevant, please select your other nationality: Romania Function: vicepresident Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Strada Constantin Titel Petrescu nr.4 Town: Timisoara Postal code: 300103 Country: Romania Direct Tel:+40 754 928 175 E-mail:casajakabtoffler@gmail.com Website:https://casajakabtoffler.ro/
F.I.D was the winning proposal of the open call launched by the Architectural Biennial BETA 2022 team, to be implemented in Traian square of Timișoara. The intervention joined a series of ”micro-nations” imagined by the curators, that have materialized physically through a series of installations scattered around the city. The competition brief allowed F.I.D to exceed the limits of a static object, and to generate alternative uses of the square. It positioned itself between the physical boundaries of a participatory architectural installation and the fair-play rules of sports encounters, Specifically, F.I.D was composed of a multi-functional scaffold and a mini-football pitch, both serving the Fabric neighborhood community, as a symbolic agora where free expression, community gestures and democracy in general, were performed freely. It manifested through different events:
• the projection of the documentary ”Fair Play Day” who's central subject is the amateur football match between the "rival" teams of the Married and the Unmarried, a tradition that has been taking place since 1936, in the Fabric district of Timișoara.
• a demonstrative match between the girl team Politehnica Femina and juniors from the Politehnica Academy Timișoara
• ”Football in Traian” - a championship that was announced not as a competition in which sports performances dominate, but as an opportunity to meet neighbors, friends and residents of the Fabric neighborhood, with Fair Play and mutual respect prevailing both on and off the field.
• different spontaneous activities and unplanned functions
The installation had a great impact in the life of the Fabric district, gathering hundreds of participants of all ages, from different social and professional backgrounds, having a large echo in the social media and the press. The presence of a natural grass field in an urban space sparked the collective imagination to treat the actual use of the Traian square differently.
Urban Commons
Community Cohesion
Identity of public space
Fair Play
Social Fabric
The physical intervention and the use of resources was kept to a minimum in this project. Instead of custom-made elements we tried to reduce the need for new materials and production to a minimum, promoting the concept of reuse and repurposing. Therefor the metal multidirectional scaffold employed as infrastructure was rented. The OSB boards that covered the structure were painted with water-based colors. The entire infrastructure served as a support system for the changing events in the square: it became cinema screen, exhibition display, mailing box for public consulting, poster wall, countdown for the tournament, scoreboard during matches, and it hosted some flags from the organizers.
The 25x15m football field, suitable for 5v5 games, was created using natural grass turf rolls placed on a sand bed and a fabric layer over the existing cobblestone surface. The natural grass was sourced from a local producer which aloud us to reduce the carbon footprint associated with transportation and to support the local agriculture.
The sand and the fabric were borrowed from a large construction site situated in the same district. The goalposts and irrigation sprinklers were also borrowed and the water supply was obtain from the local water service company through a public fountain.
Upon project completion, the grass was collected by tournament participants and it is now part of different small garden projects. The fabric and the sand were returned to the construction site, and part of the OSB boards are stored for future use.
Overall, the total budget of approx. 6000 euros was spend on rental costs mostly, while the expertise, implementation, and maintenance were executed through donated and volunteered work-hours, an aspect that forged a small team that will also engage in future projects.
Beyond our goal to build an almost non-object whose mere presence would be able to generate an alternative use of Traian square, the scaffolding emerged rather out of a need to respect the brief of the BETA competition. We kept the design simple, with a black and white color scheme, reminiscent of a very DIY football tradition. To cite one the curators of the biennial - F.I.D. it even wasn't perceived as an art or architectural installation. All this leaved room for the football field – the main organism that evolved and transformed during the entire period of exhibition, acting as a stage where different activities were performed. Sociologist Eric Dunning, sees sports as ”a form of non-scripted, largely non-verbal theater, where emotional arousal can be enhanced by (…) the ‘contagion’ which derives from being part of a large, expectant crowd, and from the ‘performances’ which spectators and not just athletes put on”. Therefor we tried to encourage the participants to be both the protagonists and the public of all this performative and participatory installation. So in a sense everyone became co-creator, forming a body of work that could easily translate as a ”relational aesthetics” or how Nicolas Bourriaud frame define it: ”relational art establishes situations in which viewers are not only approached as a collective, social entity, but are offered the possibility of creating a community, no matter how temporary or utopian it may be”
The atypical presence of a natural grass field in a mineral urban space, had an extra sensory appeal, its texture and scent contributing to the overall experience. It added a touch of nature and green to the urban environment, providing a break from the surrounding cobblestones and asphalt. It seems to also appeal to a collective utopian imaginary in which an urban square becomes a green oasis. It allowed for the liberation of multiple other scenarios of use of the Traian square that may not have been available before.
For over two centuries, Fabric district was a rich center for industry and commerce and a multicultural hub with residential, recreational and transportation network. During the communist period the residential buildings became state property and were converted into social housing. The long period of state ownership led to the degradation of the buildings and the lack of interest and collaboration between the local and governmental institutions, affected not only the buildings but also the locals. As researcher Roxana Ilisei puts it, Fabric is in an advanced state of degradation, leading to its association with abandonment, neglect, and forgetfulness. It is considered one of the most problematic district of Timișoara, where the personal investment in the territory is low and the social cohesion has decreased.
Recently a large urban regeneration project is expected from the city hall. Also through several NGOs and private actors, major events are being created. Along with the presence of various architecture and planning offices, these initiatives aim to contribute to the cultural and economic life in a positive way. Yet, these changes initiate a certain gentrification process, as they attract only a certain kind of public. Serving as a point of interest and a gathering place for the actual residents of the Fabric district, F.I.D. has promoted positive interactions between the all the neighbors. As people shared the event trough social media, it was perceived as a ”celebration of a normality of neighborhood life, and not only for commercialization, museification or consumption”, as one social media commentator pointed. During its entire existence, F.I.D. was used and repurposed freely. It provided a platform for residents of different social and professional backgrounds to engage together and to contribute to the community's collective identity. And as another commentator put it: ”For 20 years I've been saying that home is where you want to play football"
Football is considered a "horizontal sport" which promotes concepts such as the team and the collective. Football equalizes the relations between different people and classes, both among players and spectators, acting as an agent of mutual social cohesion that builds trust. FIFA Fair Play code encompasses the same universal values that are especially found in modern democracies. Through football, we cultivate respect, fraternity, pluralism, cultural and racial diversity, campaigning against racism, intolerance and violence, both on and off the play-field. Football is no longer just a sport but a mirror of our society, a language and a way of doing things. It offers a functional model that connects us with the paradoxes of our society. Fair play and mutual respect are important are essential foundations for the coexistence and development of our societies.
F.I.D. has roots in a very good example of the participatory and democratic valences of football: the traditional amateur football match between the "rival" teams of the Married and the Unmarried. This tradition began in 1936 in the Fabric district, being interrupted only by the WW2 and the bad management of the previous local administrations. The match had no other stake other than the community cohesion, where the rules were established by mutual agreement. The documentary ”Fair Play Day” is perhaps one of the most honest and valuable testimonies of what this match meant to the residents of the Fabric neighborhood. Every game was followed by a joint meeting together with families and friends, called the ”third round”. Beyond the final result, goals difference and statistics, it always remained the pride and the emotions of conviviality, which helped the symbolic transformation of the neighborhood. In such a framework, football becomes a space for the formation of civic values, and being part of, strengthens the feeling of belonging to a community.
A large number of public institutions, NGOs, and private actors have become involved, starting with the BETA curatorial team who credited the project. Local authorities provided administrative support by issuing operating licenses and permits for the entry of construction equipment. They also facilitated contacts with police services to ensure public security, although this was a service that we did not called upon, relying on the trust in the local community to self-organize and negotiate any potential conflict non-violently. At the local level we were also supported with water the public network.
At the private level, one of the biggest support came from the landscaping company Simbol Garden, that set up the football field, with the owner telling us that he always dreamed to design a stadium. He was thinking on something of the size of Bernabeu Stadium, but the field made in the Traian square produced him the same satisfaction. The Taproom bar in the vicinity created the beer of the tournament, and Decathlon gave us a small last minute support: balls and reflective vests for the game, which were later given as gifts to the neighborhood children.
The event enjoyed unexpected popularity on media being shared by almost all local news-outlets, including the city hall. In addition to the involvement of the Casa Jakab Toffler neighborhood residents, a large number of neighbors got involved with any kind of help: access to an apartment with a view for filming, providing electrical power for the film projection or music sessions.
A local NGO facilitated a football match between children from the area and from a more distant city, and there were many guided tours with students from nearby high schools.
The team of the project was composed by a multidisciplinar team of architects and some of the founders of the association Casa Jakab Toffler. an initiative of the tenants of the homonyms building in the Fabric district, in the vicinity of Traian square.
Bogdan Isopescu is teaching assistant at FAUT architecture school în Timișoara,. His practice focuses on small scale architecture and timber structures. He is an adept of hands on teaching methods by organizing and participating in many craft orientated summer schools and workshops.
Cristian Bădescu is a PhD student and teaching assistant at the UAUIM architecture school in Bucharest. His interests are focused around the Romanian industrial socialist modernist heritage and its current condition.
Zenaida Elena Florea is researcher assistant at UAUIM architecture school in Bucharest. She developed her ability to imagine her spaces through a double reporting: to the inner constraints of the project and to the decoding of the place.
Olimpia Onci is an architect having worked on projects with a focus on urban planning and urban regeneration. As a Master's candidate at Ion Mincu University of Bucharest since 2021, she has developed a keen interest in the regulation of informal settlements, urban planning, and landscape design.
Alexandru Ciobotă choose a career in landscape architecture. He co-founded the Romanian Landscape Architects Association (AsoP) and served as its president several years. He is involved in various landscape projects that debate, through multidisciplinary dialogue and collaboration, the way human landscapes are built.
Laura Borotea and Gabriel Boldiș are working together as visual artists and educators. Since 2012, they have been developing Minitremu, an initiative that facilitates children and teenagers access to contemporary art world, through different critical pedagogical tools such aș books, toys, workshops and a contemporary art camp now in its eighth edition.
F.I.D project showcased how the integration of cultural heritage and social diversity can lead to the creation of a vibrant and livable community. It emphasized the importance of minimal design, participatory art practices, and entrepreneurship in enhancing the connection between people and their habitat, fostering a sense of pride and identity. The project gave a sense of belonging through a participatory architectural installation that served as a platform for socio-cultural interaction between residents and workers of the Fabric district, even if it was temporary.
The project promoted social cohesion and mutual respect through football, serving as a functional model for the coexistence and development of all members of the neighborhood, as it allowed for self-organized matches between various groups, such as mixed gender teams, tenants and owners' associations, and other professional or affinity-based teams. This brought the community together and highlighted the immaterial heritage of the district, providing a sense of historical continuity and cultural significance.
It also offered a voice and presence to hundreds of people living in the area, creating a joyfull stage for their participation and the co-creation of new experiences and connections. This reinforced the Fabric community and emphasized the importance of community-led initiatives in shaping the urban landscape. By using football as a pretext, the project succeeded to create an alternative use of Traian Square, serving as a catalyst between different urban actors and promoting urban regeneration through community involvement.
”Football as an infrastructure of democracy" was awarded at the Beta Architecture Biennial 2022, following a call for projects. The jury appreciated the narrative on which the concept was based: "a space of play and competition without physical boundaries, where the ball can sometimes exceed the visual limits of the field, an accepted 'danger' (...). The project also reactivates a forgotten moment, specific to the place, which was organized in the community, in the past"
F.I.D. was innovative in the field of community activation or cultural intervention as we used football as a pretext to give voice and presence to the people living in the area. The goal was to bring together those who already reside or work in the neighborhood, with very different social and economic backgrounds, in contrast to the usual trend of inviting them to some concert or festival. While there is nothing wrong with them, these are still situations that reduce the local community to mere spectators and perpetuate their role as cultural consumers. Instead, F.I.D. offered a stage for participation and the possibility for the neighbors to be both protagonists and audience members, allowing for the negotiation of energies and the co-creation of new affective experiences and connections, reinforcing the Fabric community.
Additionally, the use of football broke away from the commonly held perception that sports are merely a form of expensive mass entertainment and used this "horizontal sport" as a tool to naturally bring people together.
With a well-known character in the Timișoara local memory but with a problematic present, Traian Square became dynamic during the life of F.I.D. installation, generating an alternative use of of the place and acting as the catalyst between different urban actors: local player teams, targeted or random bystanders, residents from windows, coffee drinkers, drivers surprised by balls or even cars left without headlights.
F.I.D. had a mulți and trans-disciplinary approach to immaterial and material heritage, taking in consideration aspects of identity and territory, and re-imagining the physical and symbolic use of common space. It was an approach aimed to improving the quality of living, cohesion and feeling of belonging to one of the emblematic neighborhoods of Timisoara
It took in consideration small scale architecture and sustainable structures, and had an anthropological and sociological focus on existing human relations. At the end it tackled conflicts of urban planning, while creating an site-specific installation able to communicate playfully to the local community while offering a joyfull aesthetic experience, through amateur and familiar sports.
Probably not even a single key elements of this project is something new, as Europe has a large tradition of using amateur sports as a tool for community activation, breaking away from traditional forms of entertainment, reactivating forgotten moments or creating alternative uses for public spaces, even temporary. And this includes our trans and multi-disciplinary approach. They are all used largely, as a catalyst between different urban actors, bringing to life something that is in a way, related with the DNA of a place. From our experience, one of the most important element for a project, that should be used in any context, has to do directly with the inner core of the collective identity of a specific area, rather than be an intervention from outside actors, institutional or private ones.
Although this is a limited, short-term project, we believe it addresses significant global issues such as segregation, alienation, and gentrification. While urban renewal and redevelopment can have positive effects, it often results in the displacement of residents and the privatization of public spaces that become nothing more than transit zones. To counteract this, it is essential to involve the local community in the co-design of public spaces, creating a participatory design process that considers both the practical needs of the community and their emotional connections to local heritage and memory. This approach also requires a departure from capitalist schemes and a rejection of large festivals that may not reflect the unique needs of a particular community.
