1,306 plants engulf MAIO architects' public nursery pavilion in timisoara, romania

nursery: 1,306 plants for timisoara

On the occasion of Romania’s Timisoara European Capitality of Culture 2023, MAIO Architects completes NURSERY: 1,306 Plants for Timisoara — an ephemeral structure hosting a tree nursery and open spaces for public activities. The project occupies Victory Square, a symbolic centrality in the city and a contested place where the 1989 revolution ignited. Designed as a promenade instead of a proper square, the space’s ornamental greenery divides the area and structures its circulation while completely unaccessible to the people. That being said, the project serves as an urban activator and open experiment for how the public realm can be used, designed, and perceived, opening up new perspectives and debates around the roles and temporalities of the city and its engagement with various communities and institutions. Once its one-year cycle concludes, the nursery pavilion will provide its 1,306 trees and plants to Timisoara, following a 100% reuse logic. 

all images © Laurian Ghinitoiu

maio architects creates a vertical & alternative outdoor space

For a city such as Timisoara, hosting the European Capital of Culture 2023 has a deep meaning, not only for the city and its citizens but also regarding its immediate EU context, opening a dialogue with the rest of Europe and the shared guidelines among them. ‘What is the city of the future, and what role do nature and more sustainable models play in it? It was less important that it was a tower — or its materiality — than the fact that the installation — a temporary nursery- contains plants that will be planted along the city generating a debate about its future urbanism,’ writes MAIO Architects (see more here).

Program-wise, the nursery pavilion works mainly as an events hub, an alternative outdoor cultural infrastructure for small-scale activities like gardening workshops, micro-exhibitions, and guided tours. It also sets the stage for sound and movement performances. Moreover, amid a flat landscape where all rooftops are private, a vertical installation offers a unique view over the city while providing information regarding the heritage of Timisoara—both built and botanical. 

NURSERY: 1,306 Plants for Timisoara is an ephemeral structure in the Romanian city

paying homage to local landscaping with Studio Peisaj

Being aware of the role that nature and, more broadly, new forms of urbanism will play in the future of our cities, the landscape office Studio Peisaj added to the proposal a deep contextual knowledge that ranged from local species to the cultural tradition of horticulture in the area. The nursery integrates different layers of greenery, from perennial species of trees, shrubs, and flowering plants to annual species (productive and ornamental)- produced in community gardens in Timisoara or at horticultural research and higher education institutions from the city. More importantly, the studio proposed (bio)diverse compositions that bring homage to local landscaping horticulturalists (Wilhelm Múhle, Frantz Niemetz, and others), who cultivated land in commercial and public gardens, contributing to the city’s booming international reputation.

‘The involvement in the city’s landscaping concept and in the development of modern European horticulture shows us a complex relation with nature and an active entrepreneurial attitude. From another perspective, the installation entails a scenic urban experience between two hypostases,’ continues MAIO Architects. 

creating a vertical, alternative outdoor space that acts as an urban activator

The first hypostasis is that of existing and looking from the outside at the (horizontal or vertical) nature, which is much too often regarded as just a decor. The second hypostasis emphasizes being part of the ecosystem, of co-existing with other living entities, like a sort of ecocentrism. Besides biodiversity, the nursery pavilion also spotlights care with a pedagogical and social dimension. Gardens were, among other places, pedagogical spaces, places of encounter, as well as spaces for dissent and agonism. ‘It is great that the installation produces constructive conversations about the future, the city, and its inhabitants within a frame that goes far beyond the scale of humans and the city itself,‘ concludes the architectural team. 

once its lifecycle ends, the pavilion’s 1,306 plants will be distributed across the city

hosting small-scale activities like gardening workshops, micro-exhibitions, and guided tours

MAIO Architects collaborated with Studio Peisaj for the Nursery’s landscaping design

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project info:

name: NURSERY. 1,306 Plants for Timisoara 

location: Timisoara, Romania

concept: MAIO Architects | @maioarchitects

MAIO team: Maria Charneco, Alfredo Lérida, Guillermo López, Anna Puigjaner

organizer: Ordinul Arhitectilor din România – Filiala Teritoriala Timis

OAR Timis team: Anca Teslevici, Alexandra Trofin, Ema Cristescu, Georgiana Spiridon, Antoniu Sicra

program: Timisoara European Capitality of Culture 2023, Territory ‘Places’

program curator: Cosmina Goagea

architecture & lighting design: Studio Nomadic — Victor Popovici, Silvia Tripsa, Nicoleta Postolache

landscape design: Studio Peisaj — Alexandru Ciobota, Raluca Rusu

structure: Echo Universal — Balint Karoly

scaffolding collaborators: ABT Motion Rigs, Salt Box

specialties collaborators & site management: Blaser — Bogdan Sere, DeBoot — Silvian Tecu, Melbo Instal — Emilian Zmeu, Emesis — Mihai Cojanu, Irigarden — Catalin Lubenita