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PARTICIPATION AROUND THE WORLD
WS 2022/23
CHAIR OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AND PARTICIPATION

PETRU CUCUTA
DELTA 2100
DANUBE DELTA, ROMANIA
PETRU CUCUTA
DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA
DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA
Motto: “Ideas come from everything“ - Alfred Hitchcock

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 Sources:https://www.flickr.com

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

prélude
 Source: Wikimedia commons

DANUBE DELTA, ROMANIA

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA
 The Danube River, the second-longest river after the Volga, travels through
10 nations before flowing into the Black Sea across a distance of 2,850 miles. When
it flows, it creates a delta on Romanian territory that is a magnificent natural
paradise with an exceptionally rich flora and fauna and a unique identity.

The Danube branches into three main distributaries into the delta, Chilia,
Sulina, and Sfântul Gheorghe (Saint George). The last two branches form the Tulcea
channel, which continues as a single body for several kilometers after the separation
from the Chilia. At the mouths of each channel gradual formation of new land takes
place, as the delta continues to expand.

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

DANUBE

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 Sources:https://www.flickr.com

FAUNA

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 Sources: Petru Cucuta
SUMMER LANDSCAPE

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 The Danube Delta's distinctive ecosystems are made up of a labyrinth
network of river channels, shallow bays, and hundreds of lakes. It creates a vital
natural buffer zone by filtering pollutants from the Danube River and improving the
condition of the sensitive waters of the northwestern Black Sea.

The area is perhaps the least inhabited region of temperate Europe. On the
Romanian side live about 20,000 people, of whom 4,600 live in the port of Sulina,
which gives an average density of approx. two inhabitants per km. The rest of the
population is scattered among 27 villages, of which only three, all situated
marginally, had more than 500 people2 in 2002. The city of Tulcea, at the western
edge of the delta, has a population of 92,000 (in 2002); it represents the node of the
region and the gate to the delta.

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

SCHEMATIC MAP

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 Sources:https://www.flickr.com

LABYRINTH NETWORK OF CANALS

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 Its acute isolation and harsh conditions of living, based mainly on subsistence,
made the Danube Delta a place of emigration, or transit at least. Very few of those
born in the region stay there through adulthood; at the same time, the origins of its
inhabitants vary widely, as people from many parts of Romania can be found in the
delta. The total population has remained more or less constant throughout the 20th
century; there were 12,000 inhabitants in the 1890s, and 14,000 before the Second
World War.

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 Sources:https://www.flickr.com

IVAN PATZAICHIN WINNING GOLD MEDAL AT OG 1972, MUNICH

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 Sources:https://www.flickr.com

LADIES PREPARING FOOD FOR A COMMEMORATION CEREMONY

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 Sources:https://www. booktes.com

TRADITIONAL SOUR FISH SOUP

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 Sources:https://www.flickr.com
LOCAL FISHERMAN

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 The Delta's biosphere contains hundreds of species of birds, fish, plants and
insects that contribute to the balance of the ecosystems.

The imbalances that appear in the natural system of the Delta influence both the
ecological future of the area and the lives of the inhabitants.

The primary risk factors that could have an impact on the region's future must
therefore be identified.

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 Sources:https://www.flickr.com/
GROUP OF BIRDS

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

COWS AT REST ON DANUBE SHORE Sources: Petru Cucuta

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 Sources: www.sor.ro
BIRD SPECIES

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 Illegal fishing

Changes of the hydrological regime

Water pollution

Disturbance by unsuitable tourism activities

Infrastructure development

Intensification of navigation routes

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 My opinion about the problems and needs of the Delta is formed from the
scientific research I did but also from my personal experience since I used to go
fishing there almost every summer having the chance to talk with the local people
about the current situation.

My hypothesis is that ecosystem structures, affected by external factors,

influence the entire natural chain through a domino effect. For example, due to the
isolation and lack of infrastructure, the villagers do not benefit from the same socio-
economic tools that are available to people from other areas of Romania, and then
beyond their primary sources of income, which are fishing and tourism, they resort
to other practices to obtain an income.

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 Excessive fishing in one area has an impact on the environment, setting off a
series of ripple effects that reverberate across the biosphere. The feeding habits of
birds, some of which are in danger of going extinct, might be affected by a shortage
of fish, and some underwater plants may grow too quickly, which can also result in
negative consequences. Such activities can badly harm the delta if there isn't an
indicator of the underwater status that locals can access.

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

LOCAL FISHERMEN Sources:https://www.travelguideromania.com

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

interlude
Thoughts…

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

Thoughts…

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

Thoughts…

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

1. Brief description of the project

Three problems with the Danube Delta are the focus of the project: excessive
fishing and poaching that cause environmental imbalances in the Delta, the
extinction of some plant species due to pollution, deforestation and unsustainable
planning, and the absence of communities' access to distance markers and
ecological indicators. The suggested solutions to these issues are built into a
compact, replicable floating object that local authorities may take ownership of.
The idea provides an answer to issues on various levels. The notion of floating
objects being defined on three planes —underwater, on water, and in the air— is
appropriate because it matches the project's three approaches.

It begins with a 4x4 platform that floats on barrels, to which various objects are
added that correspond to various approaches and functions.

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA
2. Precisely highlight the specific technologies, methods, and processes used in
this project

Creating a favorable environment for the laying of fish eggs is achieved

using fish farming methods. The nice and consistent water temperature
throughout the year is a benefit of the Delta. By generating the correct conditions
and the presence of pheromones, which the underwater net and flora will be
impregnated with, it is possible to activate the portion of the fish's brain that
deals with sexual and reproductive traits. Thus, if fishing is prohibited in the
region in question and the area is made largely immune to outside influences, a
local repopulation of the water will take place, which will lead to a number of
food chain repairs. The end result is seen in the life of the locals, who will have
the means to regulate their primary source of revenue, fishing.

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 Marking the water near the villages where we plan to try to repopulate it
with fish is the first thing to do. The objective is to develop a favorable underwater
habitat where fish can lay their eggs. This is made possible by fastening a net that
has added vegetation from the land to it in order to create an appropriate temperature
as well as pheromone trigger factors that cause the fish to lay their eggs here. This
assembly must be protected during the early stages of the eggs due to the density of
the plant material and the net surrounding it. This method is used in industrial-scale
fish farming and, with minor modifications, it can be made to fit an ecosystem.

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA
 Sources:https://avatarenergia.com
FISH FARMING

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

 The second step includes establishing an area above the primary platform
that will act as a circulation "node" for the replanting of the Delta by birds and
insects (which help distribute seeds in nature). The purpose of the built structure is to
indirectly produce a small moving deposit of seeds by attracting insects and birds
with food. The birds that will perch on the structure's iron arms will let the seeds fall
from their legs but also touch those that are already there, dispersing them later
throughout the Delta region. By giving nature a "boost," which is actually how
plants reproduce naturally, this secondary object hopes to aid endangered plants and
deforested areas.

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA
 The balloon above must serve as a landmark for the area and provide a
scale of measurement for the Delta. Its color was selected to attract insects and birds.

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA
GIF

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PLAN

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SECTION

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CONCEPT

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postlude
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DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA
DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA
3. Evaluation of impact

The project's objective is to carry out as many concepts at various scales as is

feasible. Locally, it will allow the community the chance to regulate fish population
growth and serve as a catalyst for natural restoration. On a wide scale, the initiative
aims to make birds essential components of reforestation and the preservation of
endangered species without negatively impacting their way of life.

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA

4. Outline why you chose this project commenting on the positive and eventual
critical points.

The project's core, in my opinion, is its acceptance of the necessity of

applying science and contemporary technology to the everyday person, even though
doing so at first may look odd. The project must allow for adjustment if they do not
function at their maximum potential or are erroneous. In general, I picked this idea
because it gives the potential for reconciliation between man and the Delta through
little interventions rather than through grandiose gestures.

DELTA 2100, DANUBE DELTA, PETRU CUCUTA