Snaffle Tail

We wanted to put Creative Engineering on the cover and Marius Șoflete's tail on the back of the magazine. That was the whole team on the cover, and when you turned the magazine over, you could see Șoflete's tail. It was February 2020 and we were getting ready to put out the print edition in March 2020.

We met first at Creative Engineering in Bucharest, then I went to the photo session with Ioana Dodan, at The Fab Squad. We continued with lunch at a trattoria nearby. I already knew Marius. Catalin (Caraza), Octav (Timu) and the others I knew then. Young, full of energy, they talked passionately about their work. I found plenty of inspiration from them. I fed on their energy.

It's been 2 years since then. 2 years! It feels like 10 to me, so much has evolved, so much has changed around them. New, serious projects have emerged, built around Marius. Șoflete.ro, Șoflete Academy, Integrall Buildings are just some of them. Businesses that educate, businesses that build, businesses that change patterns of thought and action, businesses that inspire.

But the involvement of the Șoflete.ro team alongside pRO-nZEB cluster, in the organization of the nZEB Caravan in Cluj, because this is where I wanted to go, I think it's another beginning, both for them and for the rest of us. I knew them and that's why I went prepared to have a pleasant surprise, but what happened at the nZEB Week in Cluj-Napoca far exceeded my expectations, by far. The exhibitors, the participants, the talks on stage, the atmosphere and discussions at the end of each day, the party on Saturday night, the organization. Everything was superlative. But let's take them one at a time.

Exhibitors 

In this partnership formula, the organizers have managed to gather - in addition to older participants in the caravan, such as Litarh, Zecaph, NZEBshop - many new names, first-timers to the caravan, some 40 companies in total. So there were many specialists from companies in the field of wooden houses, insulation, windows, heat pumps, installations, energy efficiency measurement. Practically all areas of interest on the subject of energy efficiency in construction were covered. Suppliers of equipment for this industry were also present, such as Ligna Dumi Tech, a supplier of woodworking equipment and technologies.

Participants

They were very many and very informed, coming from all over the country, not only from Cluj. And I will give you an example: Bogdan, a young man from Bucharest, came for the first time to Cluj with his wife and child to attend the event. He has a plot of land near Bucharest where he wants to build an energy efficient house. He arrived on Thursday and left on Sunday. In the meantime, he participated with the Creative Engineering team in the construction of the models prepared by Litarh and the other exhibitors, in discussions and presentations, and in the walk on the construction site of the house opened by Claudiu Antohi for viewing. He continually asked questions and constantly got answers. When he left on Sunday, he was still undecided between timberframe and CLT but certainly much better informed than when he arrived.

Discussions on stage

Very interesting, interactive and consistent. Various issues around energy efficiency in construction were discussed. Beneficiaries, architects, structural engineers, financial specialists, developers and many others were present on stage. The audience was large and knowledgeable, the questions and answers interesting and intense.

Beer at the end of the day

Hi. I liked it. And the excellent idea of not abruptly stopping the discussions but letting them flow after closing time, along with a beer served on draft. According to Marius, the beer was brewed in Oradea especially for them (I think it was also called Șoflete, I'm not sure) by a former architect who had taken up his second passion, brewing beer. Anyway, the best way to end each busy day together. Quality networking with smart people, eager for new information, all in a relaxed atmosphere. One of the days I was even talking to Emil Baciu from Cadwork, who hadn't had time all day to eat or go to the toilet. It was his moment of relaxation. Well, moment is an understatement. This moment lasted one day until 11:00. In the halls of the BT Arena Multipurpose Hall, no one kicked us out and neither did we until 23.00. Friday night after 10:00, some of us moved to the Zama.

Saturday evening party

The EC Garden. With the band, the horde, the bonfire. Friendships were clearly made here. There may have been some networking and exchanging of business cards, but more relationships were "strengthened" than built. It was that moment when even the slightest doubt about the success of the event was dispelled. The party broke up at 1.00 because the next day was to follow with tours, presentations of open house sites.

Presentation of the houses

We went to the one in Pădureni, opened for viewing by Claudiu Antohi. The one with photovoltaic tiles, the first house in Romania on which these tiles were installed. The house is built on a timber frame structure (timberframe) built by Litarh after a structural design by Inginerie Creativă. Moreover, with Octav Timu (Inginerie Creativă) and Vlad Liteanu (Litarh) we also realized a video for our YouTube channel, Revista din Lemn. We will also put there the movie made during the group's house presentation at 12.00. Interest was so great that two presentations were necessary, one at 10.00 and one at 12.00.

Organisation

Here I have to congratulate the Șoflete.ro team, especially Darius for coordinating the whole event and Marius for the way he coped with the pace imposed by his team. It was very similar in scale to global IT events with many stages and many guest speakers, events where you have to make your own agenda to make sure you don't miss what you are interested in. It was a modern event, impeccably organized. From a conversation with Marius I understood that the whole organization of the event took 4 weeks!!!!

As a conclusion

2 years. That's how long it's been since the magazine shoot. What will be in the next 2 years?! At this rate, I believe that in the next 2 years Marius Șoflete and his team will fundamentally change the way building is done in Romania. He's been saying this for some time and now he seems closer to this goal than ever. And no, don't imagine that the legislation will change under pressure from Șoflete or anything like that. Far from it. I am talking about quality standards generated and accepted within the community around Marius, under market pressure.

I saw developers at this event who stayed to chat until the beers at the end of the day, who also came to the party on Saturday night. I saw companies gathered in a very strong community. Others call themselves a cluster, others an employers' organization, but nowhere near as welded as in this case. We've seen an informed, increasingly informed market that will change the rules, that will impose standards. That's why I'm saying that Sooflete will fundamentally change the way we build. It's like a magnet that pulls all the energies in the industry around it. We'll talk more in two years.

I don't know if our idea would've caught on, the one with the tail of the Chooflete on the back cover. We never got around to it. The pandemic came and we suspended the print edition. But Marius inspires us too. We want to be part of the change. As we can, with the Wood Magazine, with The way home. From next year we are re-issuing the Wood Magazine in print. We can do it!