The winning teams of the Beta Awards for Public Space share a commonality in their proposals; each of their projects unfold in relation to rivers. As an ancient and enduring foundation for urban agglomeration, the presence of a riverside — whether the Seine, the Danube or Timișoara’s own Bega — is often a locus of inequality in terms of access and enjoyment. This conversation contrasts the approaches towards public generosity across three winning waterfront schemes.
KOOZ How do you approach the design of public spaces? Are there specific parameters and ambitions that you have in mind when approaching the design process?
OCTAV SILVIU OLĂNESCU (STUDIO 82) In accordance with current realities, in which the natural environment is in crisis due to the repercussions of human activity, urban design processes must be coordinated to achieve a precise hierarchy of sustainability concerns. This hierarchy puts the ecological component first, followed by the social one, all within the restrictive parameters of the economic one. Starting from this hierarchy of sustainability, the decisions that are made in the urban design process are clarified.
VLAD SEBASTIAN RUSU The opportunity to imagine a future public space credits today's architects with a responsibility that they can certainly no longer assume by themselves. The demiurgic status that the architect has held for decades in imagining public spaces has long been contested, and the paradigm shift towards the design of public spaces in an interdisciplinary and participative manner has been maturing for some time. As such, our ambition to imagine public spaces is concerned with leaving a better place than that was there before, through modest and considered proposals that evoke an identity and a way of use specific to the place. The foundation of this approach is based on a knowledge of the history of that place, the understanding of the immediate and long-term needs of the communities that will benefit from it and a projection over time of its sustainable evolution.
"The demiurgic status that the architect has held for decades in imagining public spaces has long been contested, and the paradigm shift towards the design of public spaces in an interdisciplinary and participative manner has been maturing for some time."
- Vlad Sebastian Rusu
VALYO When defining the “soft” and “hard” tools to deploy, as well as the depth and the form of an intervention, first we analysed the local characteristics — for instance, whether it is an urban or natural suburban setting — looking at the given infrastructure and the existing or potential users. For the riverside of the Danube in Budapest, we specified target groups of the project, mapping the physical parameters and certain uses of the given waterfront site. Afterwards, we zoomed out to describe the necessities of the neighbourhood, noting the extant lack of functionality of riverside public spaces.
Our general approach and objective is to create inclusive and accessible places that are available for everyone regardless of their age, gender, social class or economic circumstance. We work with temporary, small-scale interventions and coordinate events organised by locals; we try to use mobile, flexible and adaptable infrastructural elements to invite ‘users’ to creatively shape their environments. We aim to co-create public spaces that are free to visit, use and experience in many different ways.
WOLFHOUSE PRODUCTIONS & IRIS POPESCU In every project, we strive to address not only the issues outlined in the design brief and uncovered through our analysis but also to explore a more profound question: how could our designs help to create conditions for systemic change? This approach enables us to extend the impact of our work beyond the immediate project, fostering meaningful transformations. In the case of Mahmudia, in eastern Romania, that significant broader topic revolved around the local population — a prosperous yet atomised community where people were disengaged from deciding on local public matters. This encouraged us to catalyse and rely on active stakeholder engagement throughout the design and building process. We always work closely with community members, including people of diverse ages, genders and abilities. In this case, they were fishermen, small business owners, tourists and NGOs; we try to ensure that their input informs and shapes the design.
"To fulfill its complex role as a shared environment for diverse users, public space demands more than design; it requires collaboration, empathy and inclusion."
- Wolfhouse Productions & Iris Popescu
To fulfill its complex role as a shared environment for diverse users, public space demands more than design; it requires collaboration, empathy and inclusion. Creating public space requires a nuanced and inclusive approach so it genuinely serves diverse needs. Our process usually begins by recruiting a multidisciplinary team, combining expertise from various fields to address such spatial complexity. Understanding and accommodating diversity is key, so we prioritise empathy-building exercises involving our team, the client, and the builder. Through these exercises, accessibility becomes a built-in and shared core value. Our responsibility doesn't end when the building phase is completed. This is why we employ an post-occupancy analysis, in order to evaluate the impact of the new space on the community during the first years of use. We use these insights to guide us in possible future adjustments and improvements.
KOOZ When designing public spaces, participatory processes can allow for engagement with the local community. What are some of your experiences, from small-scale actions up to the scale of masterplanning around the Danube? How do you mediate between local necessities and the requirements of your commission?
VALYO In the case of small-scale projects, we invite residents in the preparatory and construction phases of a site — for example in the assembly or painting of benches — so people can participate in the creative processes, engaging with the place and each other at an initial stage. They seem to enjoy it a lot and there is always a lot of interest around these activities. For larger projects, we collect opinions and suggestions through online questionnaires — but we normally work on a small, human scale, where certain interventions and actions are feasible.
We also run a seasonal — and so-called ‘Szabihíd-style’— open call, whereby anyone can propose their own programme (as long as they have low needs for infrastructure). People are invited to share their own skills and talents — performance, dance, music — such that passers-by can join in for free. We organise opening and closing ceremony events for our seasonal projects, which strengthens the engagement of place and locals. We activate the space directly, through the users — simply by allowing for shared use of public spaces, building the possibility for occasions that can contribute to the creation of place and urban memory.
"We activate the space directly, through the users — simply by allowing for shared use of public spaces, building the possibility for occasions that can contribute to the creation of place and urban memory."
- Valyo
In most cases, our commissioner is one of the municipalities. So there are certain restrictions and constraints, such as traffic and flood protection regulations, long-term urban development strategies, to be considered along the way. These circumstances inspire us to keep pushing the boundaries to a direction that represents local needs in the long run and demonstrating successful models to decision makers, through lobbying, activism and through experimental, temporary projects.
KOOZ All three of your projects unfold in relation to a river, whether the Danube or the Someș. What is the potential of reintegrating such spaces for the city? What does it mean to design within such an environment?
OSO (STUDIO 82) Principles of connectivity and system organisation — frequently found in natural and ecological processes — can be extrapolated out to the way that natural elements are organised within the city. In this manner, any intervention must relate to the higher hierarchical system – in our case the Someșul Mic River in Romania — using elements from lower hierarchical levels, like vegetation specific to the local climate and the creation of habitats to ensure urban biodiversity.
VSR The unmanaged and unsystematised watercourses near many Romanian cities have long represented a permanent danger, due to the risk of floods determined by the unpredictability of their route and flow. This is also the case for the Someș river, where a fear of the unpredictable has engendered a somewhat indifferent attitude towards the water. Only in recent decades this attitude improved; the river has been recognised by the city as a means for the densely built environment to regain its relationship with the existing natural framework. As such, there is an opportunity for long-term measures to include the river in the city's strategic projects, reserving large areas along its banks for future public space development.
"The most important aspect in our vision is to bring back the Danube to a human scale and dedicate the riverside as much as possible to pedestrians and cyclists with green, playful, creative spots."
- Valyo
VALYO Our river and the waterfront is one of the most beautiful and the most precious spots in Budapest; we call it the living room of the city. It is a pity, therefore, that we tend to only use the riverbanks for transport throughout the city. Its potential is huge, not only for tourism, but also for local citizen uses. The riverside in downtown Budapest is twelve kilometres long; there could be many different kinds of interventions, from bars to non-commercial and non-consumption-oriented public places. What’s more, there are two islands that divide the wide river into narrow rivulets, forming safe and secure places for rowing and other water sports. There are even further potential areas for public beaches in the suburban areas, like the Római ‘beach’, and for wooden pools in the city centre.
There are several flood protection constraints that must be considered on the riverside; for example the street furniture we use are not fixed but mobile, so we can collect them before the water level rises. On the other hand, flood protection regulation restricts the planting of trees or any vegetation on affected areas. It gives a dynamic to the events; when flood arrives — which it did twice this year – the river tricks us and changes our plans. But that’s how it is, when you deal with a changing, living phenomenon like the Danube.
The most important aspect in our vision is to bring back the Danube to a human scale and dedicate the riverside as much as possible to pedestrians and cyclists with green, playful, creative spots; where people can stroll, run, do sports, have picnic or barbeque, enjoy the view of the city, meet and stay.
OSO (STUDIO 82) The proximity to the watercourse requires the creation of a local system for managing additional waters resulting from extreme weather phenomena, a system that should be part of the general design of the public space in question. Hence the need for a “topographic design” that allows for the short- and medium-term storage of a certain amount of water, which under other conditions would have contributed even more to the negative effects produced by floods. In the Feroviarilor Park, we proposed such a system that determines the topographical organization with smooth valleys and areas with water retention capacity in extreme cases.
WP & IPMahmudia is a small rural settlement at the eastern edge of the Danube Delta. For much of its modern history, it failed to embrace its biggest asset (the Delta), instead trying to develop as an agro-industrial center facing away from the wetlands. Only recently has it started to capitalise on its unique geographical position, as a significant gateway for tourism into the Danube Delta. Hospitality and access to the Delta are seen increasingly as a way towards economic success and a thriving community. Consequently, Mahmudia needs to develop suitable infrastructure on its neglected waterfront, to cater to the ever-growing needs of its fledgling tourism economy.
Initially, we were tasked with designing an attractive and (hopefully) ‘iconic’ tourism infrastructure for Mahmudia’s waterfront. But we soon realised this new waterfront had immense potential to strengthen not only tourism, but community cohesion too. Instead of focussing on tourism, we designed a “community-building” infrastructure that is also attractive to tourists. The resulting waterfront is a vital infrastructure for access to the Delta, being central to the tourism-driven economy. However, the project goes beyond facilitating tourism. It creates a public space with an open narrative, at the edge of the water. This new public infrastructure strengthens the community, helping it adapt to future challenges, whether tied to tourism or other future opportunities. At the same time, by prioritizing accessibility and shared use, the waterfront is providing ample and inclusive contexts for seamless interaction between locals and tourists alike, balancing community growth with sustainable development.
"By designing public spaces that can coexist with the natural rhythms of the river, we help create environments that are more resilient and better connected to the local identity."
- Wolfhouse Productions & Iris Popescu
Designing a waterfront on the banks of the Danube comes with its hydrotechnical particularities, and flood protection is generally the primary concern in such environments. Unfortunately, because of this very real threat, most waterfronts on the banks of the Danube end up more like concrete industrial plants and less like attractive, biophilic public spaces. We worked closely with hydrotechnical engineers to ensure that our design proposals did not disturb the existing flood protection infrastructure, and that all the safety measures would seamlessly integrate into the new waterfront design. Instead of altering a perfectly functional flood protection system, we only enhanced it where necessary — respecting the delicate balance between built and natural elements. We avoided creating rigid physical barriers against flooding. Instead, we embraced a concept of controlled flooding, where specific areas of the waterfront are designed to be temporarily submerged during high-water events. These areas — usually spaces with vegetation such as the communal garden, the beach, and the rock formation — are intentionally left to be flooded. This approach minimizes disruption and allows the community to continue engaging with the river in dynamic and adaptive ways. By designing public spaces that can coexist with the natural rhythms of the river, we help create environments that are more resilient and better connected to the local identity. Through this approach, we reimagine the river not as a boundary that we have to protect from, but as a vital element of Mahmmudia’s life.
KOOZ Your project in Feroviarilor Park is specifically centred on rewilding the banks of the river Someș. How did you approach this? To what extent was this process centred on human or non human subjects?
OSO (STUDIO 82) The area of the Feroviarilor Park is not very large, hence the constraints encountered in the design process, which had as its theme the organisation of an urban green space, with various human activities and natural areas specific to a park. We distributed these by concentrating the activities of the users towards the access areas from the city, decreasing in intensity with the approach to the watercourse. We dedicated a significant proportion of the park as an ecological area, as habitat for species native to the area. Although we’re still in the early development phase (the execution phase was completed at the beginning of 2024), given the favourable conditions of the habitats proposed, small fish have spontaneously appeared in the retention lakes in very large numbers, without being artificially introduced – a possible explanation was that fish eggs were involuntarily brought on the feet of ducks that use these places to search for food. The ecological potential of the natural habitat to harbour and host biodiversity has been evident since the beginning of the park’s use; it is truly a park “inhabited” by various animal species as well as human beings.
"We are aware that a 100% inclusive architecture doesn’t exist yet — this is why post-occupancy analysis is essential, so we can measure the actual benefits for the community."
- Wolfhouse Productions & Iris Popescu
KOOZ As time goes on, you intend to trace your project’s impact through regular visits, direct observations and public surveys. What is the importance of maintenance and how was this conceived as an integral part of the project itself?
WP & IP We are aware that a 100% inclusive architecture doesn’t exist yet — this is why post-occupancy analysis is essential, so we can measure the actual benefits for the community. Through this process, we aim to continuously assess accessibility and ease of use by conducting regular visits, direct observations, and public surveys. The gathered data informs our future design options and directly supports any future improvements to this project. We share these findings with the local administration and help them implement necessary changes for the project’s maintenance. This way, we hope to identify any overlooked obstacles to a barrier-free public space, ensuring it evolves to meet the ever-changing needs of the people.
Moreover, given that this project was designed for a small and relatively isolated community, we consciously avoided any complex or high-maintenance designs that could further strain the community's limited resources in Mahmudia. Instead, the design is simple, functional, and easy to manage. While only minimal maintenance will be required — such as repairing rusted elements, maintaining play areas, and planting extra greenery — we see these as vital to preserving the project’s usability and impact over time. Ultimately, maintenance is not just about upkeep; it’s about ensuring the space continues to serve its purpose as a welcoming and inclusive environment.
Bios
Iris Popescu is an architect specialising in inclusive design and accessibility. She is the founder and coordinator of AMAIS, an NGO she established in 2015. In 2020, Iris received her PhD in architecture from the "Ion Mincu" University of Architecture and Urban Planning. To further expand the impact of her mission to promote inclusion, in 2023 Iris began her mandate as director of Region II within the Architecture for All working group, organized by the Union Internationale des Architectes (UIA).
Studio 82 divided its activities between teaching, research and the practice of architecture and urbanism. This materialises through publications and specific studies, participation in conferences and national and international exhibitions. The work of the group has been recognised through various national and international awards.
Valyo, the City and River Association team, has been working to bring Budapest's citizens closer to the Danube and the Danube closer to its citizens since 2010. Initially an informal group that organised small-scale art installations and actions on the Danube embankment, the association was registered in 2014. Between 2015 and 2019, its projects demonstrated temporary public use, like the social programming of the Liberty Bridge or the use of the riverside areas in the Rust Belt, like the Valyo Harbor. Valyo conducted important community work for six years on the Roman bank, saving a thousand flood-plain trees from being cut down through demonstrations. After 2019, Valyo was able to create temporary waterfront spaces on a larger scale: the Pest and Buda quays in the city centre and an embankment in the outskirts, making them one of the pioneers of the local tactical urbanism movement. Valyo opened the first Danube beach and is now working on the realisation of the first downtown Danube bathing area since 1973.
Vlad Sebastian Rusu B.I.A. is a group with a professional interest that is divided between the research and design of architecture and urban planning. Its projects cover a wide range of themes and concerns, from architecture and restoration to urban planning and urban design, with their professional work recognised and awarded both nationally and internationally.
Wolfhouse Productions is a multidisciplinary team, based in Bucharest.We are mainly planning and designing for the public realm. We develop projects on various scales, from product design, to architecture, urban design and city planning. In our work, we strive to build healthy, inclusive and stimulating environments that have a meaningful social and cultural impact on society.
Federica Zambeletti is the founder and managing director of KoozArch. She is an architect, researcher and digital curator whose interests lie at the intersection between art, architecture and regenerative practices. In 2015 Federica founded KoozArch with the ambition of creating a space where to research, explore and discuss architecture beyond the limits of its built form. Parallel to her work at KoozArch, Federica is Architect at the architecture studio UNA and researcher at the non-profit agency for change UNLESS where she is project manager of the research "Antarctic Resolution". Federica is an Architectural Association School of Architecture in London alumni.
