Rezistenta Naturala
Obor-Cocor

Bucharest is undergoing a transformation driven by capitalism. Distorted forms of architecture are being built, stimulating people to consume—even when they lack the means to do so. This complex process appears to function: old habits and ways of life disappear, and architectural layers from previous eras lose their public purpose and become remnants of another time. Yet this transformation also generates forms of resistance, as in the case of Hala Obor. Built in 1937 by architect Horia Creanga, it is perhaps the finest example of modernist architecture in Bucharest. Its austere, minimal form is animated by its function—an everyday market populated by vernacular, improvised structures inserted into a single coherent architectural volume. On one hand, this coexistence of a cultural landmark and popular culture suggests that people in Bucharest can still access a fragile form of social utopia; on the other, the place unconsciously resists neo-liberalism.
Although the site faces pressure from new economic forces — just as it did under communism — Hala Obor has remained almost unchanged since our childhood. The second site we document is Magazinul Cocor, a commercial building from the communist period. Its owners have long attempted to transform it into a mall, but perhaps because of the building’s interior proportions, this seems impossible. The structure remains suspended between political and economic systems, defined by empty interior spaces and views through its windows onto either the socialist past or the historic city.