As above, so below
Damir Iuliana Georgiana
I am Damir Iuliana Georgiana and I am an romanian architect and artist living in Barcelona, Spain. I graduated University of Architecture and Urbanism “Ion Mincu” in 2020 and I am also a former student at Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona, where I went in 2019.I would describe my activity as full-time building stories through architecture, and part-time telling stories through art. The connection between art and architecture can be seen in the way I approach architecture and also art. I use my architectural skills to develop a more sculptural art, playing with materials such as concrete, cement, plaster, mouse, wood etc. Also, the architecture I propose tends to be more conceptual and artistic by paying great attention to the details of textures, colors and shapes.
In 2016 my professional architectural journey started with organising the “East Centric” Architecture Triennale by Arhitext Foundation. I was also part of the technical editing team of the event’s publications. In 2017, I completed an internship at 441 Design Studio, where I participated in the realization of interior design and product design projects. In 2018, I worked at DSBA office (Dorin Stefan Birou de Arhitectura), where I was involved in various architectural projects and competitions. In 2019, I worked at the architectural office Studio Miolk, where I created the concepts of the projects, together with the team.
After finishing university, I worked for an interior, product and furniture design office, Glassworks. Starting with 2021 I worked as a junior architect at the romanian office Tecon, located in Bucharest. In may 2022 I moved to Barcelona, Spain where I enriched my experience in interior design by working at the office El Equipo Creativo.
Now, I am developing my own architecture, design and art office working between Romania and Spain, developing international projects that grow from the mixture of eastern and western european cultures.
The project "As above, so below" is located in the courtyard of the University Palace of Iași - an architectural landmark building since 1897 and an important space of memory. This is the building where the first modern university of Romania was established, and today it includes 15 faculties and numerous research centers. It also houses the Sala Pașilor Pierduți which contains 19 murals made by the painter Sabin Bălașa, thought as a representation of Romanian spirituality.
The two courtyards, outlined like two theater curtains, become the framework for the development of the "As above, so below" project. It aims to draw attention to the built heritage of the city of Iasi, potentiating the spatial duality, the conceptual metaphors given by the history of the place and the story of Sabin Bălașa's paintings.
Duality is itself the defining word for the two courtyards that mirror each other and are connected by a pedestrian passage that becomes a metaphor for unification. Like the title "As above, so below", and Sabin Bălașa's paintings, the project illustrates the connection between the terrestrial plane and the astral plane through the textile material. Also, the duality between the microcosm – the individual and the macrocosm – society. Whatever happens in one component is bound to affect the other.
So, the visual representation is provided by a textile scarf that metaphorically starts from the astral plane - the second floor of the Universal Palace, reaches the horizontal terrestrial plane, climbs to the pavilion located at the moment of unification between the two courtyards and is mirrored in the same way in the other yard. Thus, a visible connection of the bodies of the University buildings is created, as is also manifested in the physical plane of knowledge.