I’m honored to have been invited to speak at the Romanian Research Forum organised by the Romanian Student Society at the University of Oxford. I was the only architect there, I think! I spoke about my journey in the architecture world, so far, talked a bit about some of the projects I worked on, and hopefully managed to convey my enthusiasm for the subject.
I got few interesting questions from the audience, of which one in particular stuck with me. Someone expressed the view that contemporary architecture, the hi-tech trend, seems to be a variation of the same concept: tall, glass, and shiny (the architecture version of tall, dark, and handsome) and we might end up being surrounded by these reflective, slightly phallic, structures . It’s true the most metropolitan architecture seems to be prefer a look that now is synonyms with corporate, successful, and possibly invasive, however there will always be architects that want to distance themselves from the trend and who will ensure a diversity in tectonics. Furthermore, if you think of all the terrace housing in Britain, either Victorian, Georgian, or utilitarian recent low-rises, as an archetype they have taken over at a much larger scale than skyscrapers probably ever will. It’s the simple fact that skyscrapers are only appropriate and profitable in large cities where land is of very, very high value that might just save us from being perpetually distracted by our own reflection when walking down the street (admit it, we all like a mirror).
Looking forward to more if these events!
Here’s my short presentation, if anyone fancies having a look:
Crista Popescu 
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