Black Sea Utopia. An Architectural Drama in Five Acts (1955 – 1989)

For more than three decades, Romania’s Black Sea coast became a unique place of imagination and architectural experimentation. From the 1950s through the 1980s, this stretch of shoreline was transformed into a bold modernist project – a kind of open-air architectural laboratory shaped by dreams of a better society. At the heart of this vision was architect Cezar Lăzărescu, who led the effort to create seaside resorts that broke from the past. Opposed to crowded cities and industrial landscapes, these new resorts offered space, harmony with nature, and a fresh, modern way of life.

The coastline stretching over 70 kilometres, comprising Mangalia, Saturn, Venus, Aurora, Jupiter, Neptun, Olimp, Costinești, Techirghiol, Eforie Sud, Eforie Nord, Mamaia, Năvodari – was built gradually, evolving over 34 years. Arhitectura magazine closely and continuously followed the development. Through photographs, drawings, and commentary from the architects themselves, the magazine told the story of how these buildings aimed to shape not just the landscape, but the people who inhabited it. Architecture fostered the “new man” in a context where visions from beyond the Iron Curtain seeped into the socialist future.

Looking back at this archive today, we can see the creativity, optimism, and contradictions of the time. The designs often feel like a theatrical set – staged carefully to produce a certain experience of leisure and modernity. It is in keeping with this spirit that we’ve chosen to present the story of the Littoral as a five-act play: from its daring beginnings, through the experimental highs of the 1960s and 70s, to the gradual changes that began to challenge the original vision.

 Today, what remains of this ambitious project invites reflection. These buildings are more than just concrete and glass – they hold memories, questions, and ideas about how architecture shapes the way we live, and what we hope for in the future.

…Throughout its short history, the Littoral has often been a laboratory of creation and construction, the results of which have been capitalized all over the country; it is here that the first achievements of contemporary architecture in our country appeared, and also some of the newest construction methods were experimented, their results later applied in many cities. (Cezar Lăzărescu)

organised by the Union of Architects in Romania and the Romanian Cultural Institute in Warsaw, with the support of the Ministry of Culture in Romania, together with the Museum of Architecture in Wroclaw

initiated and coordinated by arch. Ileana Tureanu

curator, arch. Maria Duda, Baza. Deschidem orașul

exhibition design, Attila Kim . Architects

graphic design, Arkadiusz Kowal

contemporary photographs, arch. Andreea Cel Mare

production design, arh. Alma Vasile, arh. Sorin Olteanu, NOD Makerspace, Fabricate

sound design, Cristian Lolea

project coordinator in Poland, Sabra Daici

many thanks to Ovidiu Miron, Olimpia Sultana, Irina Călinescu, Ioana Alexe, Aurelian Arif,  Arhitectura Magazine