Workshop of the Romanian Project Partners, ASPs & local stakeholders in the Danube Delta

If you thought September in Tulcea, Romania, was only about fish soup and pelicans, think again. Between September 1–3, 2025, three of our Romanian project partners, their ASPs, and selected local stakeholders gathered to put their heads together for the first Danube Ruralscapes collaborative workshop. Hosted by the Ivan Patzaichin - Mila 23 Association, “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urban Planning, and the Order of Architects of Romania, the event dared to ask the big questions: what makes rural landscapes tick, and what’s threatening them? In true Danube Delta fashion, the debates were lively, the coffee was strong, and the field trip was muddy in all the right ways. Participants didn’t just talk in circles about “values” and “shared identity” - they actually tried to pin down what makes local architecture and heritage worth saving. Whether the answers came in the form of scholarly interventions or passionate local insights, one thing became clear: the Danube Delta is not just a postcard backdrop, but a living landscape with a future to design.

The program rolled out like a well-rehearsed play (minus the occasional improvisation). Day #1 was all about arrivals and sizing each other up at the Tulcea embankment. Day #2 got serious, with a crash course in Danube Ruralscapes 101 by none other than Tulcea native Prof. Angelica Stan and a workshop moderated by architect Teodor Frolu, who somehow managed to keep everyone both on topic and awake. The afternoon highlight? A trip to Mila 23 to visit the Ivan Patzaichin Museum - because nothing says “future of rural heritage” like learning from someone who already nailed it. Day #3 brought follow-up discussions, wrap-ups, and that classic Danube Delta goodbye ritual: making plans to meet again before anyone has actually left. In short, it was three days of theory, practice, and the occasional “aha!” moment, proving that heritage, when approached collaboratively, can be anything but boring.

Of course, this was only the opening act of our Romanian partners. Tulcea and Mila 23 are the first test grounds for the project’s grander ambitions: seven micro-regions, seven guides on rural architecture and landscape, and hopefully seven fewer reasons for rural communities to feel left behind. The project is banking on bottom-up governance - because let’s face it, people living in the villages might just know a thing or two about their own landscapes. By combining the wisdom of municipalities, partners, and locals (and sprinkling in a few academics for good measure), the aim is to cook up policy recommendations that aren’t just cut-and-paste jobs. Ultimately, Danube Ruralscapes is less about saving the countryside from some imaginary doom and more about giving communities the tools to shape their own futures. If this Tulcea workshop is anything to go by, that future looks promising - and possibly involves better coffee at the next meeting.

Follow our journey at #DanubeRuralscapes!