“People tend to laugh out loud when I say that Carter III was an integral part of my thesis project. Not sure why, I don’t think it is funny and I definitely do feel architecture could use a little more of Lil Wayne’s spirit. And then you do realise, as if you could ever forget, that the field is largely represented by a different generation, which you have next to nothing in common with. By and large architecture is in a rut and a rather dull moment. There is very little that blows your mind and I desperately want my mind to be blown.”
-Oana Stanescu
Introducing Oana Stanescu, the unconventional architect whose portfolio is like a little black book of celebrity popular culture ‘A List’. Collaborations include Kanye West and Virgil Abloh. Stanescu is on a simple mission to redefine architecture, and gentle coax it out of it’s shell, whilst injecting it with Lil Wayne’s spirit and Kanye West’s progressive rhetoric.
Stanescu was born in Resita-Romania, during the time when Romania was in the throes of a violent revolution. Studying architecture and then taking an internship at the Office of Metropolitan Architecture in New York. Stanescu then went on to pursue design careers at prominent design firms in Japan and Switzerland, volunteering with Architecture for Humanity in South Africa, and founded two architecture practices in New York-Family with Dong Wing Pong and more recently establishing a solo venture under her own name.
Stanescu’s signature architectural style is the blending of architecture and popular culture, most notably the stage design for Kanye West’s Iconic and ground-breaking ‘Grand Yeezus’ tour: which featured a memorable fifty foot white volcano ascended above the crowd in a visual sharp peak highlighted by a single streak of bright white light for West to perform on high above the audience.
Stanescu’s 50ft Volcano Design. Photo Credit: Kanye West
The collaboration with Virgil Abloh who recently made history as Louis Vuitton’s first ever African-American creative director, saw Stanescu along with Dong Wing Pong design the Hong Kong flagship store for Abloh’s high-end street-wear brand: Off-White. The inspiration for the design was to create a unique immersive experience and to break with convention and tradition, transforming the main entrance to the store into a beautifully landscaped lush garden leaving behind the ‘shop window’ as is customary with most store settings. The design also made reference to sustainability and defied the ‘concrete jungle term’ normally associated with urban street hipster style. 
Off-White Store Collaboration. Photo Credit: Off-White
The Model of the Off-White Store. Photo Credit: Family, New York
“It was the first space for Off White and we kicked things off by strolling through Chelsea galleries and talking about his ambitions with Off White, with the rest of his work and beyond. I am not sure what we saw but tangentially discussing the art and neighbourhood we were passing through also enabled us to set goals for the project. From there it was all about tossing around ideas. We did want it to stand out on Patterson Street, it had to, given that we were surrounded by all these established brands. But we also wanted it to be generous towards the city and people, inviting and welcoming. I see the point of Off White like that of a pin up (a type of conversation that is at the heart of all architectural education), an excuse for a broader, ever-evolving conversation and the space had to enable that. We also always anchored all Off White spaces into a reaction to local conditions. In the case of Hong Kong, we wanted to bring the natural, the greenery into the concrete city”.
-Oana Stanescu
One of the most innovative and compelling projects saw Stanescu collaborate in the +POOL project. The purpose of the project was to put people and their communities at the forefront and heart of design. The project was conceptualised along with Dong Wing Pong, Archie Lee Coates and Jeffrey Franklin of the office of Playlab. The project is looking into installing the world’s first water-filtering floating swimming pool in the East River in New York.
“There is nothing that affects us the way music does for example, and I often try to ask myself how can an architectural project bring us closer to that deep, immeasurable dimension, to the unspeakable that is in all of us. That’s where popular culture, or music or movies or books come in because they reflect the society’s spirit and temperature in a way that architecture, which needs a lot of time to materialise, just simply cannot. And given that we are in such critical times I do feel that architecture not only needs to play a role in the now but can productively contribute to the conversation. If architects continue to be distracted by nostalgia, if we don’t let go of the notion of what the architect once was, we risk living in a world shaped by everyone but architects”.
-Oana Stanescu
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About Me
Hi, I'm Lisa!
Founder and Interior Designer at SPEAK.
I relish the opportunity to create interior design that inspires, I love to maximise space and leverage colour, architectural features and modern design.
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At SPEAK interior design our mission: is to create designs of influence and purpose, that speak volumes and positively serve the needs, ethos and culture of their users. Our designs must inspire,…
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