From Factory to Design Framework: An Instrument Across Scales for the Reinvention of the Rulmentul Platform

This article examines the premises and conditions underlying the design brief developed for the International Architecture Competition focused on the regeneration of the former Rulmentul industrial platform in Brașov, Romania. Grounded in the site’s layered industrial history and its strategic urban position, the brief advocates a regeneration approach that places industrial heritage at the core of contemporary urban transformation. Conceived as a multi-scalar framework, the competition addressed strategic, urban, and architectural levels simultaneously, combining a long-term metropolitan vision with short-term, publicly accessible interventions capable of activating the site.

The article discusses how the brief sought to mediate between economic development pressures and heritage-led adaptive reuse, emphasizing phased development, public access, and flexibility. It also reflects on the political and institutional deadlock that followed the competition, leading to the gradual dismantling of the site’s built heritage. Ultimately, the paper argues for the relevance of the competition and the design framework it proposes as a transferable methodological instrument for addressing industrial heritage regeneration in complex urban contexts.