Annotations cc: Boris Peianov

Boris Peianov, architect, design consultant and current director of development at Beta, the Timișoara Architecture Biennial, belongs to a generation of practitioners navigating architecture after the collapse of many of its inherited certainties. Within Eastern European contexts in particular, architecture often operates between asynchronous conditions: rapid cultural and technological shifts coexist with slower administrative structures, incomplete infrastructures, and unresolved transitions from the recent past. Through Beta’s evolving format and its occupation of transitional urban spaces, this conversation engages with collective values, institutional imagination, and the changing agency of architects today.

Anoe: What qualities does the contemporary architect, and perhaps the architect of the future, possess, given the realities we live in and the societal conditions our generation has inherited? The role has shifted away from the stereotypical and archetypical image, something also reflected in the curatorial note of Beta. How do you perceive that?

Boris: The role has evolved. It has always had a social aspect, but today more than ever there are additional pressures: ecological exhaustion, economic challenges, and inequality of resources. We cannot avoid thinking about the future. The ability to read this situation is important for an architect, as well as the ability to work within constraints and with responsibility for what already exists. It is important for a contemporary architect to understand how much this profession can drive society. It is no longer a scenario where you are motivated by ego and legacy in this industry. There is always an aesthetic value, and that is part of what we carry forward from our education, but the social and economic aspects are becoming equally central. So stripping yourself of ego is important. Also, more and more, and I think this is already part of the answer, the ability to be multidisciplinary is essential. It is no longer just architecture.

A: Aesthetic choices represent intentions and ambitions. Contemporary architecture relies rather on spatial conditions, in an attempt to create accessibility and emotional impact. It is increasingly about narratives of connection, social responsibility, and forms of social vulnerability and empathy. It is about how we stretch the discipline to respond to, or contrast with, the current environment. How have these aspects been interpreted at Beta?

B: The platform is built around these values and needs. Its theme and curatorial direction insist on an architecture that is living and responding to real space, real limits and constraints. From this perspective, it develops a layered reading of its local context in Timișoara, Romania, which is distinct from comparable formats elsewhere in Europe. Rather than allocating resources to the circulation of objects, the exhibition budget is directed toward site-specific interventions, shifting emphasis from display to situated transformation and generating value that extends beyond the duration of the event. Accordingly, the municipality has provided a building for Beta as a testing ground for the future: instead of being demolished, it is reactivated through reuse.

A: What conditions or intentions led to Beta being hosted in a building that would otherwise have been demolished?

B: This is how Beta has operated for many editions. Instead of only working with galleries and museums, we have shifted our focus to utilising abandoned spaces to showcase their potential. Each edition aims to show that these buildings do not need to be demolished; they can be reused with some maintenance and adapted in creative ways. Demolition is not always the answer. In this case, we selected the former school of architecture because it no longer functions as such and is located in a favorable position for hosting the project. We also involved first-year architecture students, allowing them to develop their projects on-site. The building itself became their site of work, offering a valuable lesson in construction methods and architectural modules they would not usually encounter so early. I consider this a success, especially since the municipality allowed not only temporary use but also contributed to a longer-term future for the building.

A: I think the idea of maintaining, repairing, and reinterpreting, rather than discarding is incredibly relevant. We cannot simply move forward by disregarding the past. Reflecting on that, how do you perceive the local architectural context?

B: We are dealing with a duality: responding to the future of architecture while still trying to define its current role. Society is not yet at a point where the role of the architect is fully understood or appreciated. There are contradictions between state expectations and societal expectations, which creates tension within the profession. Change takes time, and municipalities often move slower than communities. We are trying to catch up with developments that elsewhere are already established. That creates back-and-forth tension and a sense of urgency. We have resources and ideas, even if the infrastructure is still developing. There is also a strong improvisational spirit here, a willingness to make things work despite obstacles, which brings a sense of joy.

A: Returning to how we started, the role of the architect today is not only to build, but to orchestrate social and even political structures.

B: Yes, absolutely. We are struggling with the rigid label of the architect as someone who only designs buildings. In reality, architects orchestrate systems and processes. It is a mindset.

—
The sixth edition of Beta, the Timișoara Architecture Biennial, curated by Andreas Kofler and Tudor Vlăsceanu, takes as its theme In Practice—as opposed to ‘in theory’. It is introduced through a preview weekend on 15–16 May, before opening to the public from 4 September to 25 October.

The image sequence for this editorial includes representative past projects by current exhibitors: Brasebin Terrisse, Pelinu Projects, Martial Marquet; as well as archival images from previous editions of Beta. The last images have been taken during the preview opening: Detail Curtain Room by Office for Roundtable (Denver/Guangzhou), Photography by David Dumitrescu.