A floating island will appear in the middle of the Dambovita river downtown Bucharest in June. It is not a rare natural phenomenon, but the result of a design competition to promote destinations in Romania’s Danube Delta, whose organizer was Romanian champion rower Ivan Patzaichin and his association.

The winning project of the Eco-Arhipelag competition is a floating island representing the Sulina Lighthouse, made by Diana Roşu and Bogdan Ciocodeica. Their creation, the Sulina Urban Lighthouse, will be made of wood and will be floating on the Dambovita, between Unirii Square and the National Library, starting June. Apart from having their creationg exhibited downtown Bucharest, the two also won a cash prize of EUR 1,000 and a one-week trip to the Danube Delta.

Four other such so-called ‘islands’ that took part in the competition will be gradually launched into the Dambovita this summer, as financing for create the projects will become available, according to Mediafax. All the projects registered were exhibited at Romanian Design Week on May 23-24.

The Dâmboviţa river banks in the area have recently benefited from renovation works. "The floating islands proposed by the participants in the competition will contribute to the definition of the area as an oasis of tranquillity and an invitation to reconnect to nature," according to the contest organizers.

The Eco-Arhipelag competition, created by the Association Ivan Patzaichin - Mila 23, gathered 24 projects from designers, architects and artists, either Romanians or foreigners. They were all tasked with promoting eight destinations in Romania’s Danube Delta - Crişan, Chilia Veche, Periprava, Letea, Mila 23, Caraorman, Sfântu Gheorghe and Sulina.

The projects competition took place between March 7 and May 14. Two foreigners were part of the jury which chose the winners: urbanism specialist researcher Elke Krasny, Senior Lecturer, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, and architect Tristan Lannuzel from the Kassel University in Germany.

editor@romania-insider.com