From representation to real influence in the way it is built in Romania. Architect Raluca Șoaita, candidate for the presidency of the Romanian Order of Architects
Architect Raluca Șoaita, founder of TESSERACT TESSERACT, the only office specialized in medical infrastructure in Romania and one of the few of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the Romanian Order of Architects. The move comes in a context where the debate about architecture is moving from professional representation to the real ability to influence public policies and major investments.
With almost twenty years of professional experience in direct management and multidisciplinary coordination of a complex architectural practice, oriented towards critical infrastructure and projects with major public impact, Raluca Șoaita builds his program on a central idea: architecture must be approached as an integrated process — technical, social and strategic — at the heart of how society develops.
“OAR can become a strategic institution, which really connects the private environment, administration, universities and research in a coherent and constant dialogue”, states this.
From representation to coherent constructions in Romania
“Romania's problem is not one of principle, but at the level of implementation: fragmented projects and lack of coherence between policies, approval and execution. OAR must move from representation to influencing the way coherent construction is done in Romania”. transmits arch. Soaita.
In his view, it is critical that OAR becomes an actor directly involved in architecture policies, including public procurement and the evaluation of major projects, because in this way decisions about the built environment would be more coherent, better professionally grounded and closer to the real needs of communities, reducing the fragmentation between strategy, regulation and execution.
The architect, strategic actor in the development of Romania
The Architect Raluca Șoaita program proposes the repositioning of the architect as a strategic actor in the development of Romania, not just as a provider of technical services. The architect thus becomes a mediator between the community, economy and administration.
The direction is aligned with the practices promoted by the Architects' Council of Europe, where architecture is treated as an instrument of public interest, with a direct impact on the quality of life and European urban policies.
A fragmented profession between school, OAR and practice
The program signals the break between academia, professional organization and office practice, which often operate separately. “A profession united in practice, not just in structure” it involves reducing the gap between training and the reality of the market and creating real collaboration mechanisms between universities, OAR and the professional environment.
That is why Arch. Raluca Șoita aims at working groups on topics such as digitization, heritage, acquisitions and fees, but also reaffirming the idea that architecture is not an individual practice: teamwork and shared responsibility are essential.
A reconfigured profession that “doesn't leave you alone”
Another important element is the integration of young architects in the profession, where Architect Raluca Șoaita identifies a major risk: professional isolation in the first years of their career. Proposed solutions include mentoring, active professional networks and turning the internship into a support system, not just an assessment. The focus is on building teamwork as a structural skill, not an optional one.
At the same time, the new OAR management approach proposes a reformulation of professional training through two complementary frameworks: school – research – business and architecture – legal – businessto reflect the complex reality of practice.
The architect's initial: between formalism and responsibility
Access to the profession and the right to sign, regulated by Law 184/2001 on the organization and exercise of the profession of architect, is another central point of the program. Raluca Șoaita supports overcoming an exclusively formal approach and strengthening the dimension of real responsibility: the initial is not just a certification, but the assumption of decisions with direct legal and social impact.
Transparency, resources and public role
The architect also proposes increasing the transparency of the OAR and a more visible use of resources from the architecture stamp, with measurable results in education, professional culture and public projects. For architects, the direct benefits include professional predictability, clearer access to decision, reduced uncertainty and a unified voice in relation to the state and the market.
In a construction sector that remains essential for the economy, but where architectural policies are fragmented, Architect Raluca Șoaita proposes to move the debate on the role of the Order of Romanian Architects from the administrative to the strategic: who actually influences how cities, hospitals and public infrastructure are built?
20 years of expertise in complex management of public impact projects
Architect Raluca Șoaita has almost two decades of experience in architecture, with a practice focused on complex infrastructure projects, especially hospitals and medical spaces — one of the most sophisticated areas of the profession. He led complex multidisciplinary projects, in Romania and on other markets, including in collaboration with financial institutions and global organizations, having the role of World Bank consultant in Romania for the reform of the health system. This experience strengthened a first-hand understanding of the impact of infrastructure on communities, public systems and quality of life.
With over 1.5 million square meters of designed medical spaces, TESSERACT ARCHITECTURE, the office founded by her, is one of the few offices in Romania specialized exclusively in medical infrastructure, integrating design, research and technology in the development of health projects. Among the large hospitals signed by the architecture studio are the Children's Hospital built by the “Marie Curie” Donate Life Association, the County Hospitals of Sibiu, Buzău, Lugoj, Tulcea, the Heart Institute from Târgul Mureș, the first modular hospitals in Romania intended for the care of patients with Covid-19, as well as numerous private clinic and hospital projects in different localities in the country.
The mix of practice in critical infrastructure, international experience and understanding of project implementation supports a candidacy oriented towards institutional efficiency, real applicability and public relevance, at a time when OAR aims to consolidate a strong role in the development of the profession and the built environment in Romania.
“I am running for an OAR that represents all architects, supports the profession and strategically repositions it at the center of decisions about Romania's built future”, transmits Arch. Raluca Şoaita.
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