10.2023

We are happy to announce a new project in Romania! We are involved in the urban planning and design of the Someșul Mic river corridor between Gilău, Florești, Cluj-Napoca and Apahida, a future metropolitan landscape park that will host the soft-mobility backbone of the region.

A strategic soft-mobility axis

Providing cycling and walking infrastructures for all speeds and uses (commuting, recreation, sports, tourism, education, etc), the project aims to be the strategic driver of a shift in metropolitan mobility towards lower carbon intensive modes of transportation. Central to this ambition are overcoming the bottlenecks and creating links to the existing fragments of soft mobilty infrastructure.

A metropolitan landscape park

Confronted with a plethora of socio-ecological challenges along the valley, the project aims to mend fragmented landscapes, reverse ecological degradations and create a diversity of inclusive pubic spaces and amenities along the river banks. These allow for better living environments for both people and their supporting ecosystems. Such an expanded and interconnected blue-green infrastructure will thus provide people with a rich experience of nature, allow the biodiversity to redevelop, while reducing the urban heat island effect and permeating the urban fabric with fresh air.

An accompanying urban development plan

With its strategic socio-ecological and soft-mobility role, the metropolitan landscape park project is also the driver of a broader new urban development plan along the valley: public buildings and amenities (for education, health, culture, sports, community gathering spaces, administration or public housing) as well as commercial amenities that are open to the public, should be built with priority facing the river. This would expand the landscape-park in the built tissue through an imposed permeability of the open spaces around the new amenities. By having an address at the river-park, this concentration of programmes open to the public will further support lower carbon modes of mobility.

Team: Metapolis Architects, Atelier Mass, Studio de peisaj Ana Horhat, NV Construct