Safety perimeter, Ferentari

The project outlines a perimeter of safety and help that connects the neighborhood with the services offered by the Carusel NGO. The modest property, owned by the association in Ferentari, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Bucharest, will become the space of a new day center. In this moment of transition, the private courtyard becomes a space that opens to groups of people in need.

The courtyard is both a familiar perimeter that has the size of a typical neighborhood plot and an alternative space through its purpose and opening towards the neighborhood. The project preserves the domesticity of the existing courtyard but at the same time defines an area of service and tolerance for collective use, creating a framework that can support various scenarios and interpretations.  A widening of the public space through an interstitial area between the house and the city becomes space for both the community and the association. Transforming the existing boundary into an open and welcoming space creates a long-term help point for people in the neighborhood. This newly created space will function as the first area of interaction between the association and its neighbors.

Children can play while parents receive medicine, people without means receive food and clothes, the water pump is open to neighbors that are not connected to utilities. Access to showers and to first aid equipment will be ensured. A mobile team goes out on the street to help people that are physically impaired or hesitate to come to the center.

Phase: Project not implemented

Organizer: Carusel Association

Location: Ferentari, Bucharest, Romania