ECOWEEK 2026 ROMANIA
Sustainable Architecture for Health, Landscape and Community
Bucharest and Eforie Sud, 6-12 July 2026
Theme:
Integrated Park for Medical Rehabilitation and Balneotherapy in Eforie Sud
about
ECOWEEK : 21-years of international design sustainability and urban innovation.
Sustainable desing in more than 30 cities in 18 countries around the world
in more than 200 workshops in sustainable design,
with thousands of placemaking and urban hands-on design-build interventions and design proposals
that engaged more than 4500 students and young professionals in architecture and design
and through public participation, engaged thousands of local stakeholders!
Hundreds of expert speakers and leading keynote speakers to share, teach and inspire!
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​Explore the ECOWEEK resources:​
overview
ECOWEEK 2026 is the second event in Romania. The first, in 2016, focused on the Victor Babes hospital in Bucharest, addressing issues of sustainable design and proposing landscape design schemes for ‘gardens that heal’.
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ECOWEEK 2026 partners include the Faculty of Urban Planning and Univercity Associations (Romania), the Constanța County Council (Romania), Ecoama/ECOWEEK (Greece), NetHood (Switzerland), and SINCERE.
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ECOWEEK 2026 addresses the relationship between architecture, landscape, health, circular economy and sustainability. Includes a series of interactive conferences with public discussions, lectures and keynote speakers open to the public, intensive architecture and landscape workshops, that will focus on sustainable design, urban planning and landscape design with the central theme of “Gardens and Public Spaces that Heal”. Engages the 'Talking Buildings' tool aiming to redefine the relationship of historic cultural heritage buildings with modern societies and contemporary cities.
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ECOWEEK 2026 is a multidisciplinary event that invites the participation of post-doctorate, doctorate, graduate and undergraduate students and young professionals in Architecture, Engineering, Interior Design, Landscape Design, Agronomists, Medicine, History, Communication, and Media.
ECOWEEK 2026 site is the Recovery, Physical Medicine and Balneology Department of the “Sf. Apostol Andrei” County Emergency Hospital, ConstanÈ›a. A 10-hectare land area, with abundant unplanned vegetation, and an architectural ensemble of significant historical and environmental value, dating from the beginning of c.20th.
The workshops will develop a project outline for a Balneotherapy and Medical Recovery Park, including the premises’ functional organization, volumetric, functional and architectural proposals, accessibility solutions and landscaping with a recreational as well as therapeutic role.
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The project benefits from the interest and support of the Constanța County Council, being considered a preliminary study within the implementation of a model project for the modernization of medical rehabilitation and balneology infrastructure, and for the revitalization of the Eforie Sud resort, by recovering its history as the oldest resort on the Romanian Black Sea coast and preserving the local heritage.
The Eforie Sud resort dates back to 1894, when a sanatorium was built in the area, followed in 1899 by the first hotel between the seashore and the lakeshore, by the name Hotel Movila (today, Hotel Parc), and the Movila Baths (Baile Movila) on the shore of Lake Techirghiol. Between 1903 and 1906, around 50 hotels and villas were built between the sea and the lake, on the plot division sold by the Movila family.
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The Movila-Techirghiol resort became officially a balneo-climatic resort in 1912, and developed significantly between the two world wars. For instance by 1938, approximately 500 villas, hotels, and residential houses had been built, enabling the resort to accommodate up to 20,000 visitors per season. In 1929 its name was changed to Carmen Sylva, and from 1962 to Eforie Sud.
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At present on the Black Sea coast in the area of Lake Techirghiol, there are three spa resorts namely Eforie Sud, Eforie Nord and Techirghiol. On the lakeshore there is an outdoor treatment center for cold mud wraps, lake baths and climatotherapy, adding to the various spa hotels, sanatoria and the Recovery, Physical Medicine and Balneology Department of the “Sf. Apostol Andrei” County Emergency Hospital, ConstanÈ›a.
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Source: Constantin Cheramidoglu - Carmen Sylva, cea mai veche stațiune de pe litoral. Istoria Eforiei Sud Citește mai mult
Developed by NETHOOD for the SINCERE Horizon program, the TalkingBuildings tool will enhance the workshop experience and redefine the relationship of historic buildings to their modern urban contexts.
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The main assumption behind the SINCERE's TalkingBuildings tool is that the process of giving a voice to buildings can reveal important aspects of their condition and potential future. It produces also very playful and inspiring outcomes that can attract attention and stimulate creative engagement.
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The TalkingBuildings tool invites participants to a. Observe carefully a building through all their senses; b. Choose a specific part of this building, and c. Narrate a story through its own perspective.
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Until today the tool has been successfully tried out in Rhodes, Xanthi, Graz, and we will have the chance to further develop it. Our platform talkingbuildings.net collects the voices of all these buildings and provides a good starting point to understand the concept and contribute.
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In Bucharest and Eforie Sud we will experiment with different observation prompts, framing scales, and storytelling mediums, and discover all together what the buildings and its parts have to say about the past, the present, and the future.
program
5.7 Bucharest Arrivals. Evening get together dinner [1]
6.7 Constanta Organized bus trip, site visit, workshop on project, on-site exercises (talking buildings, etc.), city tour [2]
7.7 Welcome, orientation, warm up exercises, present the project, initial discussions.
8.7 Conference and ideas presentation, exhibition and discussion with the Constanza Mayor and City Council [2]
Afternoon departure to Bucharest by organized bus [1]
9.7 Bucharest Parallel workshops in Bucharest. Afternoon lecture and/or time out in the city [1][3]
10.7 Bucharest Parallel workshops in Bucharest. Afternoon lecture and/or time out in the city [1][3]
11.7 Bucharest Conference with projects presentations, jury and discussion, lectures and Keynote Lecture. Group dinner [1][3][4]
12.7 Bucharest Departures
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Venues:
[1] Hotel in Bucharest.
[2] Hotel in Constanta.
[3] Workshops hosted at Sala Noua - Teatrul de Comedie, Bucharest.
[4] Event hosted at Bucharest University Architecture, Bucharest.
workshops
W1: Eforie Sud Entrance square garden
An urban oriented project with an urban, sustainable and healing design focus, suitable to participants in the fields of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Agronomists and Medicine.
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W2: Eforie Sud Terrace and garden
A more landscape oriented project, with an architectural, sustainable and healing design focus suitable to participants in the fields of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Agronomists and Medicine.
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W3: Green bridge connecting the seashore to the lakeshore
An architectural and design project, with an architectural, urban and sustainable design focus, suitable to participants in the fields of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Agronomists and Medicine. Can engage and address aspects of engineering and placemaking.
W4: Rehabilitation of abandoned cultural heritage building
An architectural and design project, with interior design, architectural and sustainable design focus, suitable to participants in the fields of Architecture, Interior Design, and Medicine.
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W5: Talking Buildings
When Cultural Heritage buildings tell their own story: An architectural and design project, with interior design, architectural, preservation and rehabilitation focus, that uses technology and storytelling to build contemporary narratives for cultural heritage buildings. Suitable to participants in the fields of Architecture, Interior Design, History, Communication Design, and Media.
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registration
Registration to ECOWEEK 2026 is open to individual participants and group registrations (5 people and more).
Registration fee is 50 Euro for individuals and 30 Euro per participant for groups.
Registration fee covers organized bus trips and reserves your place in the event only. It does not cover flight, transportation, insurance, accommodation, meals and all other accrued expenses. Registration fee is low to make participation accessible to more participants, but it is non refundable.
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Workshop places for ECOWEEK 2026 are very limited. Registration takes place in two steps:
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1. You reserve your place here (in case of over-booking, the waiting list is based on first-come-first-serve basis upon cancelations).
2. We will confirm your participation by email and provide registration fee payment instructions.
Participation requirements: You are obliged to bring your own laptop and personal work tools at your responsibility. Travel insurance for foreign and local students is obligatory. Please read and accept the terms and conditions for participation to ECOWEEK 2026 in the registration form.
​ECOWEEK 2026 workshops are suitable for students, young and established professionals in the disciplines of Architecture, Design, Landscape Architecture, Industrial Design, Planning, Visual Communication, Graphic Design, History, Media, Agronomists and Medicine. Other professions are also welcome to join and experience working with these disciplines in interdisciplinary teams. ECOWEEK activity is best for graduate or undergraduate students in second year or higher. Participation in the workshops requires a time commitment. Please allocate this time for yourself. More details in the instructions and guidelines of each event.​​​​
