Category: News

On the fourth day of the FAST festival, on November 6, Iași City Hall hosted one of the most anticipated sessions for early-career architects: Trustworthy – Young Architects Panel. The event marked the launch of “Nextgen,” an educational board game designed to simulate not only the formal steps of a job interview in an architecture office, but also the informal cues and unspoken dynamics that often shape hiring outcomes. 

The turnout spoke for itself; the venue quickly proved too small: the room filled beyond capacity, and the audience’s focus made it clear how relevant this topic felt to students and young architects. Many arrived looking for something rarely offered in school, a space where the realities of entering the profession could be explored honestly, without judgment. 

Through the game, participants moved through interview-style scenarios in a safe, low-stakes environment. Instead of performing under pressure, they tested responses, reflected on outcomes, and compared experiences with peers. The game-based format encouraged openness and active participation, turning what could have been a standard panel into a hands-on learning experience. 

As the rounds unfolded, the game brought forward a set of needs that young architects often carry quietly into their first interviews. Participants discussed managing nerves and anxiety, dealing with ambiguity, and understanding what employers truly looked for beyond a polished CV or portfolio. Just as importantly, the session created a collaborative space for questions that were rarely addressed during formal education:  

• How did you set boundaries early on?  

• What did a healthy professional relationship look like inside a studio?  

• How did you ask the right questions without sounding “difficult”?  

• And how did you read an office culture before committing to it? 

The conversations that followed each gameplay moment highlighted a key point: a strong portfolio did not tell the whole story. Communication, adaptability, clarity in real-time discussion, and the ability to “read the room” often mattered just as much, yet these were skills most participants had little chance to practice in academic settings. In that sense, “Nextgen” functioned as more than a learning tool; it became a shared reflection on the transition from university to professional life. 

The board game was developed by architect Alexandru Sescioreanu, drawing on more than eight years of direct experience working with interns in his own office. That practical background showed in the realism of the scenarios, and in how quickly participants recognized themselves in the situations the game proposed. 

By the end of the session, attendees left with concrete insights and a strong sense of community: reassurance that their concerns were shared, and that the “hidden curriculum” of interviews could be learned, practiced, and discussed openly. The full room and the depth of engagement turned the event into a standout moment of this FAST edition, confirming that the next generation sought not only technical competence, but also guidance for navigating the human side of architectural practice. 

Photo credit: Costoaea Anghelina, Avasilcai Maria On the fourth day of the FAST festival, on November 6, Iași City Hall hosted one of the most anticipated sessions for early-career architects: Trustworthy – Young Architects Panel. The event marked the launch of “Nextgen,” an educational board game designed to simulate not only the formal steps of a job interview in an architecture office, but also the informal cues and unspoken dynamics that often shape hiring outcomes. 

The turnout spoke for itself; the venue quickly proved too small: the room filled beyond capacity, and the audience’s focus made it clear how relevant this topic felt to students and young architects. Many arrived looking for something rarely offered in school, a space where the realities of entering the profession could be explored honestly, without judgment. 

Through the game, participants moved through interview-style scenarios in a safe, low-stakes environment. Instead of performing under pressure, they tested responses, reflected on outcomes, and compared experiences with peers. The game-based format encouraged openness and active participation, turning what could have been a standard panel into a hands-on learning experience. 

As the rounds unfolded, the game brought forward a set of needs that young architects often carry quietly into their first interviews. Participants discussed managing nerves and anxiety, dealing with ambiguity, and understanding what employers truly looked for beyond a polished CV or portfolio. Just as importantly, the session created a collaborative space for questions that were rarely addressed during formal education:  

• How did you set boundaries early on?  

• What did a healthy professional relationship look like inside a studio?  

• How did you ask the right questions without sounding “difficult”?  

• And how did you read an office culture before committing to it? 

The conversations that followed each gameplay moment highlighted a key point: a strong portfolio did not tell the whole story. Communication, adaptability, clarity in real-time discussion, and the ability to “read the room” often mattered just as much, yet these were skills most participants had little chance to practice in academic settings. In that sense, “Nextgen” functioned as more than a learning tool; it became a shared reflection on the transition from university to professional life. 

The board game was developed by architect Alexandru Sescioreanu, drawing on more than eight years of direct experience working with interns in his own office. That practical background showed in the realism of the scenarios, and in how quickly participants recognized themselves in the situations the game proposed. 

By the end of the session, attendees left with concrete insights and a strong sense of community: reassurance that their concerns were shared, and that the “hidden curriculum” of interviews could be learned, practiced, and discussed openly. The full room and the depth of engagement turned the event into a standout moment of this FAST edition, confirming that the next generation sought not only technical competence, but also guidance for navigating the human side of architectural practice. 

Photo credit: Costoaea Anghelina, Avasilcai Maria 

At FAST: Festival for Architecture Schools of Tomorrow, the mornings of November 4 and 5 were spent at the Aula Magna “Carmen Sylva” of the Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iași, where the scientific conference CONVERGENCE: Architecture as a Framework for Collaboration and Trust unfolded as one of the festival’s central academic moments. 

The conference was conceived as a space for reflection and exchange on the evolving role of architecture as a multidisciplinary medium, one capable of fostering collaboration, trust, and innovation in contemporary society. Over the course of two days, CONVERGENCE brought together scholars, educators, researchers, and practitioners from architecture, urban studies, engineering, and related fields, creating a shared platform for dialogue across disciplines. Within this setting, architecture was discussed not only as a professional practice, but as a cultural and operational framework through which collective action could be articulated and sustained. 

 The designation “Convergence” carried a layered meaning that resonated strongly with current architectural discourse. In a scientific and academic sense, convergence referred to the coming together of disparate elements—ideas, disciplines, technologies, and stakeholders—into a unified whole, often generating outcomes that exceeded the sum of their individual parts. This understanding closely aligned with contemporary architectural research and practice, where the discipline increasingly operated at the intersection of social needs, environmental concerns, and technological transformation. Architecture was thus framed as an integrative structure, one that facilitated cooperation and enabled shared responsibility within complex systems.  

This conceptual foundation was closely connected to FAST’s broader thematic framework, “Becoming Trustworthy: Architecture as a Framework for Collaboration and Trust”. Rather than treating trust as an inherent or static quality, the conference approached it as a condition that architecture continuously had to earn. Trust was discussed as emerging through competence, care, accountability, and long-term engagement with communities and contexts. In this sense, architecture was repositioned as an active participant in a wider trust ecosystem—one in which built form, process, and decision-making were inseparable from ethical and social responsibility. 

Throughout the conference, architecture was consistently understood as a living framework, rather than a fixed artifact. Presentations and discussions emphasized its capacity to mediate relationships between stakeholders, bridge cultural and disciplinary divides, and support collaborative modes of problem-solving. Convergence, in this context, was not merely a conceptual theme, but a necessary condition for addressing pressing global challenges, including climate change, social inequity, and the ongoing digital transformation of the built environment.  

These conceptual directions were reflected directly in the structure of the conference programme. The two-day schedule was organized into thematic sessions that explored participatory and interdisciplinary design practices, sustainable and resource-efficient strategies, technological innovation and material experimentation, ethical considerations in architectural practice, and the reinterpretation of heritage as a cultural and social resource. A strong emphasis was also placed on architectural education, highlighting the architecture school as a formative environment where collaboration, critical inquiry, and trust-building practices were actively shaped.  

The format of CONVERGENCE encouraged dialogue rather than isolated presentation. Each session was followed by engaged Q&A discussions, allowing ideas to be tested, expanded, and questioned collectively. The accompanying poster exhibition further extended the space for exchange, enabling more informal conversations between authors and participants and reinforcing the conference’s collaborative ethos.  

Over the two days, the conference generated sustained interest around the topics addressed. Attendance remained consistent, discussions were active, and the level of engagement reflected a clear need for such a forum within both the academic and professional architectural landscape. The diversity of perspectives and the depth of the debates demonstrated how strongly the theme of collaboration and trust resonated with current research concerns.  

In retrospect, CONVERGENCE 2025 affirmed its role as a key academic pillar of the FAST festival. It reinforced the importance of research as an essential component of architectural culture and provided visibility to emerging and ongoing scholarly work. By bridging theory and practice, and by situating architecture within a broader network of disciplines and societal challenges, the conference contributed to strengthening a culture of collaboration and trust within the profession. 

As part of FAST’s long-term vision, CONVERGENCE confirmed the role of architectural research as an active force in shaping the future of the built environment, one grounded not only in design excellence, but also in shared values, collective knowledge, and the continuous process of becoming trustworthy. 

Photo credit: Avasilcai Maria, Costoaea Anghelina, Dodo, Bumbu Oliver 

The FAST 2025 Pavilion was unveiled at the “G.M. Cantacuzino” Faculty of Architecture in Iași, marking the completion of a collective building process carried out during the festival’s #BuildUp week. Visitors discovered three distinct volumes that were designed and constructed through the joint effort of students from Romania’s five architecture schools, working under the guidance of their tutor professors. The opening moment became both a public celebration of intense work and a clear demonstration of what collaboration can produce when responsibilities and trust are shared. 

Conceived as a long-lasting structure, the FAST Pavilion was designed to remain in place for five years, until FAST, Architecture Schools of Tomorrow, returned to Iași. Rather than functioning as a temporary installation, it was positioned as a flexible, practical space meant to serve students and professors alike. Over time, it was expected to host educational and recreational activities and to remain open to the community as a platform for meeting, learning, and informal exchange. 

The pavilion opening was accompanied by an exhibition presented by the host school, the “G.M. Cantacuzino” Faculty of Architecture. Bringing together student work from all years of study, the exhibition offered a snapshot of the faculty’s identity and pedagogical directions, and it provided an essential context for the environment in which the pavilion’s ideas and methods took shape. 

At every FAST edition, the five participating schools collaborated on designing and building a pavilion with the aim of activating the city and inviting local communities to reflect on architecture beyond the classroom. In Iași, the 2025 pavilion continued this tradition by translating the festival theme, Becoming Trustworthy, Architecture as a Framework for Collaboration and Trust, into a built structure. The project showed how trust was developed through coordinated teamwork, a shared construction timeline, and the commitment to deliver something useful for others, not just for the duration of the festival, but for the years that followed. 

A short video featuring voices from those involved in the pavilion was available here: https://www.facebook.com/reel/2220888915089506  

Photo credit: Ionuț Dohotariu, Matei Ana Maria 

The workshop Telephone Without Wires (with Images) took place on 4–5 November 2025, between 9:00–13:00, bringing together 20 architecture students (four from each participating faculty) in the FAST workshop spaces at the Faculty of Architecture. The atelier was facilitated by Laurian Ghinițoiu, artist and architectural photographer, and Marius Vasile, architect and photographer. Designed specifically for architecture students, the workshop created a critical and experimental environment in which participants examined how images circulate, transform, and influence perception in contemporary culture. 

Starting from the premise that we live in an era of instant visual transmission, the workshop investigated how meaning shifts when images are repeatedly interpreted and retransmitted. Inspired by the childhood game of “telephone,” the exercise replaced whispered words with visual material. Each participant received an initial image, interpreted it, and produced a transformed version. That result was then passed to the next participant, who continued the chain. With every step, elements were lost, invented, exaggerated, or reinterpreted. 

Through this process, students explored how authorship dissolves in collective communication and how visual information is never neutral. The workshop encouraged reflection on trust, distortion, memory, and the fragile nature of representation — themes highly relevant to architectural imagery and media culture. Participants actively explored how photographs and drawings can manipulate narrative, construct meaning, and shape public understanding of architecture. 

The complete image chains were assembled and presented during a public vernissage on 6 November 2025, revealing the gradual drift of meaning from the first image to the last. Some sequences maintained surprising continuity, while others transformed radically, exposing how interpretation accumulates layers of subjectivity. The final exhibition allowed viewers to trace the evolution of each visual message and reflect on the mechanics of communication itself. 

The workshop was highly appreciated for generating a playful yet intellectually sharp learning experience. Students explored the instability of images and gained awareness of their responsibility as future architects working in a visually saturated environment. Guided by professional photographers and architects, participants engaged in a process that combined experimentation, critique, and collaboration — demonstrating how visual culture can be both a tool and a question within architectural education. 

Photo credit – Grosu Andrei Liviu, Anghel Ecaterina, Matei Ana Maria 

The Affective Cartographies workshop, facilitated by Assist. Prof. PhD Arch. Tiberiu Teodo-Stanciu and Assist. Prof. PhD Arch. Ramona Costea, took place on 4-5 November 2025, between 9:00–13:00, bringing together 15 architecture students (three from each participating faculty).  

The workshop unfolded across two complementary settings, the historic center of Iași and the FAST workshop space at the Faculty of Architecture, and proposed a poetic investigation into the relationship between city, perception, and memory. 

Designed specifically for architecture students, the workshop encouraged participants to explore the city not only as built fabric, but as a field of emotions, recollections, and personal interpretations. Guided by the facilitators, students approached urban space as a living archive shaped by subjective experience. The theme of convergence framed the process: individual perceptions gradually merged into a collective emotional map. 

The first stage consisted of a two-hour guided sensory walk through central Iași. Participants documented the city through photography, handwritten notes, and rapid sketches, focusing on textures, rhythms, atmospheres, fragments of sound, and fleeting impressions. Rather than analyzing infrastructure or typology, students explored how the city is felt and remembered. This exploratory phase emphasized intuition, attention, and emotional awareness as architectural tools. 

Back in the workshop space, the group translated these experiences into physical artifacts. Each participant produced a two-dimensional collage on a 50 × 50 cm plexiglass panel, layering cut silhouettes of buildings with drawings and handwritten text in white marker. The transparent surfaces allowed overlapping narratives to coexist, symbolizing how multiple readings of the same city can occupy the same space. 

All works were assembled into a shared installation resembling sliding dioramas, which could be rearranged and viewed from multiple angles. This format highlighted the fluidity of perception and invited viewers to actively reinterpret the collective map. The final results were presented during a public vernissage on 6 November 2025, marking the culmination of the workshop. 

The atelier was widely appreciated for the type of experience it generated: immersive, reflective, and collaborative. Students explored the emotional dimension of architecture and urban space, developing new ways of observing, recording, and translating lived experience into visual language. Supported and guided by experienced architects and educators, the workshop created a rare environment where poetic inquiry and architectural thinking converged, reinforcing the idea that cities are not only constructed, they are continuously felt, remembered, and rewritten by those who inhabit them. 

Photo credit – Matei Ana Maria, Apetrii Maria