Architecture for the New Man in the 1950's in Romania. First Glimpse of Communism Build Environment

AbstractAfter the Second World War, the communist regime supported by Moscow started building the New Order and environment for the New Man/Woman. After a few projects that were in line with the Stalinist architecture and had Moscow's approval, the New City tried to find its own way in. The political context had had no direction in constructions until Nikita Khrushchev's discourse in 1954.In the 1950's, communism started building the neighborhood of tomorrow.This project involved two cities: Hunedoara, located in the largest heavy industry area of the country, and Bucharest, the capital of Romania. A young architect, Nicolae Porumbescu, started working on the new project: a building with a cultural function, a theatre seen as the greatest object erected in “Piata infratirii intre popoare” (“The Fraternization between Peoples Square”) in Bucharest, and another similar structure in the main square of Hunedoara. Porumbescu's inspiration for the object was the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. The project was developed in the two cities, but at a different scale and relation with the surrounding blocks of flats built for the New Communist Man. The Communist rulers were in search for a new identity of the communist city. The House of the New Man of the 1950's was a pastiche of composite style inspired from classical values. The five-pointed red star ruled in the flamboyant decoration of a hypostyle classical hall. Why does history repeat itself in architecture? Why is the Hellenistic style the only style applied when the idea of dominating the crowds occurs? Nicolae Porumbescu tried to work against the Stalinist style which a few years later, in the 1960's, was to be considered “without utility” because of its decoration, space and urban composition.Why is the classical option always considered the right path of a new ideology of image? Why does one always employ the classical style when one wants to impose oneself? What did Nikita Khrushchev do to the new way? This paper intends to provide answers to such questions