Romania

Eugen Vaida is an architect at Asociatia Monumentum, which has been a member organisation of Europa Nostra since 2019. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Architecture and Urban Planning „Ion Mincu”, in Bucharest. Among his many projects, Eugen coordinated the Daia Heritage Valorization Plan, developed by the Global Heritage Fund in 2017-2018, and is currently coordinating The Ambulance for Monuments project, which won an Award and the Public Choice Award at the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards 2020. He had a defining role in the development of the summer school movement in Romania which has its key
mission in educating young architects and students. He is a Member of the Advisory Group for the European Commission on heritage policies, the Founding member and president of The Federation for Transylvanian Heritage and advisor for the Romanian Ministry for Culture and National Identity. Eugen Vaida published numerous literary works on cultural heritage, including “Saving the culture of the other” (Alţîna, 2021) and “The Architectural Guidebook For Contextual Planning in the Saxon Area” of the Order of Romanian Architects (RURAL Working Group). Eugen Vaida became an Ashoka Fellow in November 2021, benefitting from a lifetime bursary to continue his work in the field of heritage from the world’s leading social entrepreneurship organisation. For it’s dedicated efforts in the education of the public of all generation, Asociatia Monumentum, lead by Eugen Vaida, was knighted by The Romanian Presidency in 2021.

Alexandra Stoica is the deputy director of restoration at the National Heritage Institute (NHI) and is actively involved in heritage and adaptive reuse projects concerning Romania’s protected sites and historic structures.
Her previous experience in nongovernmental and startup heritage projects includes Monumente Uitate (Forgotten Monuments) for the inventory of castles and manor houses (2010-12), Adopt a House in Roşia Montană at coordinating working sites and project design (2010-15), and the Calup urban regeneration project repurposing vacant spaces in Bucharest (2015-18). She earned her architectural education in Bucharest (2010) and specialized in preservation in Rome, Italy (2013).
During the pandemic, she established her architectural practice and continues to assist private projects that preserve heritage landmarks in her hometown of Brașov. She has been a part of the NHI team since 2021, being responsible for implementing Romania’s National Program of Restoration for Historical Monuments and directing NHI activities on two UNESCO site restoration projects in development until 2024.
She has served on various commissions and working groups within the Ministry of Culture since 2016, reviewing projects for NHI heritage stamp funding beginning in 2020 and assisting with UNESCO listing processes for Rosia Montană (2016-17, 2022-23) and Brâncuși works (2022-23). Her most recent research focuses on energy-efficiency tools for historical structures in Romania and how to associate quality principles with interventions on contemporary uses of heritage properties.