About us - FABER

FABER Story

FABER is an independent cultural center, founded by a group of entrepreneurs from Timisoara in the fields of architecture, IT and social-cultural. Confidence in the potential of Timisoara and the desire to contribute to the consolidation of the creative industry in the city brought them together in 2017, when they decided to purchase the industrial warehouse in the AZUR complex and transform it into the FABER building.

The name Faber originates from the philosophical concept "Homo Faber" - the creative man - an idea proposed by Hannah Arendt and Max Scheler, which describes the man capable of changing the environment by means of tools. FABER is where any talent with a dream or a plan finds here the infrastructure, the way of working and the community to help them develop what they imagined. A place of inspiration and creation.

Since 2020, since the inauguration of the building, the FABER team has also become a creator of socio-cultural, visual, experimental, artistic and musical contents. The main FABER program lines - design and music are curated by Martina Muzi, designer and design teacher, and Florin Unguraș, co-founder of the TMBase festival.

In 2023, the year of Timișoara - European Capital of Culture, FABER became a reference space for a series of events within the cultural agenda. In partnership with the Polytechnic University of Timișoara, FABER signed the Bright Cityscapes program, whose various events - exhibitions, conferences, parties took place in the FABER space, throughout the whole year.

In 2024, FABER continues the design program and investigates the industry whose story is not only about automation, outsourcing and networks, but also about resilience and invisibility: the textile industry.

FABER building

Located on the banks of Bega, in the Fabric district, the FABER building - in its present form and functionality, is the result of the transformation and rehabilitation of an industrial building, part of the Azur complex. The former Azur factory, whose development began almost 200 years ago, at the initiative of the Farber family from Timisoara, represents another source of inspiration for FABER people and belonging to a creative-entrepreneurial history, an identity for the city.

The architectural qualities of the FABER space enjoyed international recognition shortly after its inauguration. In the New European Bauhaus 2020 awards, the FABER building was among the three European finalists in the "Buildings renovated in the spirit of circularity" category. In the same year, the architects of the building - the FOR team, were nominated for the prestigious European Prize for Architecture, Mies Van Der Rohe. In 2022, the same team was awarded at the BETA Architecture Biennale.

Around 20 companies and teams of freelancers from the creative industries - architecture, design, 3D production, textile and music production, content creators - operate in the FABER building. Cultural organizations and companies find at FABER the creative space, suitable for organizing their own medium and large events.

From April 2023, a new exhibition space of 750 m2 was inaugurated and made available to creatives and cultural operators in the city. The effort involved in the inauguration of this space is the result of the FABER-AZUR S.A. Partnership.

FABER team

Oana Simionescu is an architect and manager, constantly concerned about the future of the architectural profession as well as how people and the built environment mutually influence each other. University assistant at the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism in Timișoara since 2010, coordinator of the Timișoara Architecture Annual and then Biennial in the period 2014-2018 (activity for which she was nominated in 2016 for the AFCN Award for Cultural Management), co-founder and coordinator of the collaboration platform F O R (2010 - present), member of the Board of Directors of the Timiș branch (vice-president, 2014-2018) and then of the National level of the Order of Architects of Romania (treasurer, 2018 - 2022), part of the project teams undelocuiesc.eu (2016 - 2020), Upgrade My City (2016-2018), Triplex Confinium (2019 - 2022), and last but not least, co-founder and coordinator of FABER.

Cristina Potra Mureșan is the initiator and project manager of Timotion, co-founder of FABER, and founding member of the Timișoara Community Foundation. Trained as a financial auditor in Ireland, for 6 years business analyst and product owner in a software company, she is fascinated by diversity and stimulated by debates. She seeks to create, for herself and others, contexts where minds meet and hearts resonate.

Martina Muzi is a designer, curator and educator active in Italy and the Netherlands. She was curator of the exhibition platform GEO — DESIGN at Design Academy Eindhoven, founder of the collective pedagogical research program Stigmergy and co-initiator of ArcHertz, an experimental sound program at Universo Assisi. As a member of the Space Caviar studio since 2014, she has led a variety of projects for the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Vitra Design Museum, the Kortrijk Interort Biennale and the M+ Museum of Visual Culture in Hong Kong.

Florin Unguraș (or Ufo, as he is known by his friends), beyond his impressive collection of vinyls and CDs, has over 20 years of experience in organizing and coordinating cultural events and companies. Founder and director of the TMbase project, consultant in the development and implementation of Electroruga and Revolution festivals, and associate in the clubs Setup, Molly Malone and Amplificat.

Ștefan Lucuț is a senior graphic designer who lives in Berlin and has over 15 years of experience in various fields such as brand identity, print and web design. His approach is minimal and always based on experimenting with typography, photography and primitive shapes mixed with vibrant colors in order to create imagery that is both bold and timeless. Some of the projects he worked on are: BETA Catalog 2020, Jecza Gallery, Multiplexity, Biennale Art Encounters 2023.

As a creative director and communication strategist, Ema Prisca led creative departments of international advertising agencies and created campaigns for global and local brands in Romania, Spain, Mexico, CEE, and Georgia-EuroAsia. She has won more than 60 international awards for creativity and efficiency in communication and is a member of 16 international juries for design, communication and digital innovation. Ema holds an MBA from Berlin School of Creativity - Steinbess University and is a lecturer at ESADE Business School Barcelona.

Diana Caducenco is a graduate of Communication and Public Relations. She studied at the Paul Valery III University in Montpellier, France and organized cultural projects within the organization Fix in Art in Greece. She has experience in planning social media and influencer marketing campaigns, developing brand communities, both for private companies and non-governmental organizations.

Nicu has extensive competences in various technical fields, from IT to electrotechnics. He recognizes the essential role of technology in facilitating work and in the learning process, which is why he has been involved as an entrepreneur in digitalization initiatives of companies as well as in various non-governmental projects focused on the integration of technology in education.

His belief in the power of technology and his passion to integrate it into various spheres have defined his path, turning him into a dedicated follower of innovation and continuous progress.

With over 13 years of experience in branding and marketing, what defines Valentina (Ina) is the desire to create contexts where ideas can come to life and teams can collaborate efficiently. Being a curious person, passionate about beautiful things and projects that have a real impact on the community, she likes to continuously learn and be inspired by the people and experiences around her. She graduated from the Faculty of Communication Sciences from the Politehnica University of Timișoara and got her master's degree in Advertising and Sales Promotion from the West University of Timișoara. She developed communication strategies, new products, launched campaigns and created brand identities.

Edelina is a graduate of the Faculty of Accounting and Management Information Systems at Mihai Eminescu University in Timișoara. She pursued courses at the University of South Florida, USA, followed by training at the Bob Hogue School of Real Estate, USA. With over 15 years of experience in the administrative field across various business environments, she brings organization and positivity to every project. She enjoys collaborating with creative individuals who inspire her and fosters an environment of personal growth and innovation.