A novel initiative started in the Treasure City. Beginning with July and during the following two months, the Flowered Cluj Movement wishes to adorn with flowers the windows and balconies of downtown Cluj with the help of its citizens, while in the outskirts, they want to please passers-by by well-kept green areas in front of the houses and the blocks of flats.
The historic roots of the Cluj/Kolozsvár Town Embellishment Society, the initiator of the call for the projects, go back to bygone times (the 1880s and 90s). The name of the association is linked with such important projects as supporting the cause of the King Matthias groups of statues or the extension and the development of the central park of the city. The new association willing to undertake the goals of the forgotten old society was called to life by young people that had been active in civil society organisations for many years, and who consider it a labour of love to improve the aesthetics of the city landscape, and whose common aim is to create a healthy, civilised and pleasant dwelling environment and living space in the Tresure City.
Although in the past few years the City Council and the Town Hall of Cluj, as well as their subordinated institutions, have done a great deal to shape the aesthetic image of the city, yet the Treasure City is still lagging behind in this respect when compared with other European cities of the same size and importance, where the windows and balconies of downtown buildings are decorated with flowers from spring to fall. If we take a walk in certain towns of Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland or even Hungary, we come to realise that the facades, windows and balconies of their downtown buildings are made stunning by colourful flowers and plants most of the year.
The project initiated by Balázs Gergely, aiming to become the catalyst of a process in Cluj that would result in more beautiful downtown facades and greener suburbs, with the efficient assistance of the dwelling communities, individuals, organisations, institutions and companies, quickly found followers and supporters. “We would like to learn from one another, follow each other’s example, and make our city more beautiful, more liveable and draw attention to a possible new image of Cluj, to that of a city of flowers” – declared Dezső Szenkovics, the president of the Cluj/Kolozsvár Town Embellishment Society.
Thus, the call for application published for the general public in July aims at multiplying the number of flowers in downtown windows and balconies by the end of August 2017. Applicants such as private individuals, dwelling associations and legal entities are welcome to submit their photographs or series of five photographs at the webpage of the association: www.varosszepito.ro where they present the flowery facade with which they wish to enrol into the competition, designating its full address. The same webpage provides further information about the association, and the details of the launched project.
In order to measure the success of the initiative and of the call for proposals, the Society orders a series of photographs to be taken before the announcement of the competition about the buildings of downtown Cluj and its suburbs, and will repeat the same series in the following months after the start of the project. The organisers hope that the pictures taken and sent by the citizens will clearly show that Cluj will have become a significantly and visibly more aesthetic and joyful place. In early September the Jury nominated by the association will decide about the incoming applications, choosing based on the photographs the most beautiful flowered window, balcony and facade, and then, following the announcement of the results, it will award the prizes and the diplomas of recognition within the framework of a public event.
The organisers hope on the one hand that as a result of the Flowered Cluj project dozens of families, institutions and organisations will be moved to action already in the first year, and on the other, that a new tradition will be born.
More information about the call for applications can be found at: http://varosszepito.ro/flowered-cluj-2017.html