Urbanism and Architecture in the Journalistic Work of G. Călinescu, Writer and Social Observer

Abstract

Călinescu, a Romanian writer, critic, literary historian and publicist, a multilateral personality of classic orientation, has a long, continued and high-class publishing activity, for 45 years (1920-1965), in over 30 prestigious literary publications. The publicist is a sober technician; he motivates the man into a scenery of order, he approaches with interpretive amplitude the idea of architecture, monumental, civic, architectural and cultural heritage, the traditional identity axis. In his novels and articles, he describes competently the old Romanian towns full of architectural history, highlighting the Greek and Latin harmony of the monuments, building visionary new cities (especially the capital Bucharest) according to new artistic rules and draws accurate scientific sketches. The paper proposes an analysis of these articles and writings of the past in order to prove the timeliness of the writer's vision regarding the importance of preserving the heritage of the Romanian architectural landscape designed in modernity.