Toma Barbu Socolescu

• Name — Toma Gheorghe Barbu Socolescu • Born — 10 July 1910 • Birthplace — Ploiești, Kingdom of Romania • Died — 21 July 1977 • Place of death — Bucharest, Socialist Republic of Romania • Resting Place — Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest • Citizenship — Romania romanian • Other Names — Barbu Socolescu • Occupation — Architect • Years Active — 1932–1969 • Education — École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts • Spouse — Irena Gabriela Vasilescu • Children — Mihai Ștefan Marc Socolescu • Father — Toma T. Socolescu • Relatives — Toma N. Socolescu (grand-father), Ion N. Socolescu (great-uncle) • Awards — Paul Delaon Prize, 1st mention (1938); Prize from the State Commission for Architecture and Construction for a canning factory in Ovidiu 1964 • Significant Buildings — Ovidiu canning factory (later Pepsi-Cola) • Significant Design — Art deco, Functionalism

• Illustration — Drawing of Toma Barbu Socolescu (fontains) – 1st mention at Delaon Prize in 1938. He was awarded two third-place medals, in construction and ornamental drawing, and later, in the first class from November 4, 1936, he received a second-place medal for a rendered project. Graduated in architecture from the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts of Paris in 1939, he was admitted to the 2nd class on July 10, 1934, winning two 3rd medals in construction and ornamental design, then to the 1st class on November 4, 1936, winning a 2nd medal for a submitted design. Before and during his studies, Toma Barbu Socolescu worked on the interior design of the transatlantic liner Normandie in 1932-1935 in Roger-Henri Expert's studio. His first steps were taken alongside his father Toma T. Socolescu, in the 1940s, with whom he worked on several projects in the Prahova Judet: plans for a locomotive depot in Ploiești as well as the urban development plans for Câmpina and Mizil. His first position was as a university assistant at the Ion Mincu Institute of Architecture (Bucharest) in 1939, a post he held until 1951. According to his statement in his registration file with the Directorate of Higher Education in 1940, he was then serving a 12-month term in the Romanian army with the rank of second lieutenant. He made his entire career in industrial architecture and large civilian buildings. From 1942 to 1945, he was Design Architect at the C.A.M (Cassa Autonomă a Monopolurilor Regatului României), a position he would still assume from 1949 to 1951 at the IPC (Institute of Design and Construction). From 1952 to 1958, he was chief design architect at the Institute of Design for Industrial Constructions (IPCI), while also working externally for the Ministry of Local Economy, building canteens, housing and administrative pavilions. He pursued his expertise as chief design architect at the Institute of Design for Petroleum Refineries or Institutul de Proiectari pentru Instalatii Petroliere (IPIP SA) from 1958 to 1960. Finally, from 1960 to 1967, he worked as a consultant architect at the Institute of Design for Food Industries (IPIA) or Institutul de Proiectare al Industriei Alimentare. He ended his career as a professor at the Technical School of Architecture and Town Building (Școala Tehnică de Arhitectură și Construcția Orașelor) of Bucharest, from 1967 to 1970. Barbu Socolescu built a number of industrial projects, including a large-scale canning factory at Ovidiu near Constanța, from 1959 to 1965, a site which would later house the country's first Pepsi-Cola plant. Also a painter, he exhibited his watercolors at an exhibition organized by the Union of Architects of the Socialist Republic of Romania in Bucharest in 1954. Toma Barbu's career was more modest than his abilities would have suggested, as his family suffered political persecution. The Romanian political police monitored him for much of his career, as they did his father. He was prosecuted for hostile expressions against the State and summoned several times by the Securitate. As he was not considered a danger to the regime, no further action was taken. • Illustration — Drawing of Toma Barbu Socolescu (gardens) - 1st mention at Delaon Prize in 1938.

• 1937: First prize for the sketch competition on a casino project decided by the Astra Română rafinery, in Ploiești, co-designed with his father Toma T. Socolescu. • April 1938: 1st mention at concours Paul Delaon, Paris. • 1943: Mention in the competition for the administrative grouping of UCEA factories in Făgăraş. • 1964: Award of the Architecture and Building State Commission for the canned vegetables factory of Ovidiu, Constanța County.

The Socol family of Berivoi, Brașov, formerly part of Făgăraș or Țara Făgărașului is a branch of the Socol family of Muntenia, which lived in the county of Dâmbovița. A 'Socol', great boyar and son-in-law of Mihai Viteazul (1557–1601), had two religious foundations in Dâmbovița county, still existing, Cornești and Răzvadu de Sus. He built their churches and another one in the suburb of Târgoviște. This boyar married Marula, daughter of Tudora din Popești, also known as Tudora din Târgșor, sister of Prince Antonie-Vodă. Marula was recognized by Mihai Viteazul as his illegitimate daughter, following an extra-marital liaison with Tudora. Marula is buried in the church of Răzvadu de Sus, where, on a richly carved stone slab, her name can be read. Nicolae Iorga, the great Romanian historian and friend of Barbu's father Toma T. Socolescu, found Socol ancestors among the founders of the City of Făgăraș in the 12th century. In 1655, the Prince of Transylvania George II Rákóczi ennobled an ancestor of Nicolae G. Socol: "Ștefan Boier din Berivoiul Mare, and through him his wife Sofia Spătar, his son Socoly, and their heirs and descendants of whatever sex, to be treated and regarded as true and undeniable NOBLEMEN.", in gratitude for his services as the Prince's courier in the Carpathians, a function "which he fulfilled faithfully and steadfastly for many years, and especially in these stormy times [...]". Around 1846, five Socol come to Muntenia, from Berivoi, Brașov, in the territory of Făgăraș. One of the brothers was architect Nicolae Gh. Socol (??-1872). He settled in Ploiești around 1840-1845, and named himself Socolescu. He married Iona Săndulescu, from the Sfantu Spiridon suburb. He had a daughter (died in infancy) and four sons, two of whom became major architects: Toma N. Socolescu and Ion N. Socolescu. The lineage of architects continues with Toma T. Socolescu, and his son Barbu Socolescu. The historian, cartographer and geographer Dimitrie Papazoglu evokes, in 1891, the presence of Romanian boyars of the first rank Socoleşti, in Bucharest, descendants of Socol from Dâmbovița. Finally, Constantin Stan also refers, in 1928, to the precise origin of Nicolae Gheorghe Socol: PETITE-FILLE

• Interior decoration of the liner Normandie in 1936, under the direction of professor of architecture Roger-Henri Expert. • Illustration — Interior of the liner "Normandie", 1935 • Villa of Dr Gheorghiu in Breaza, Prahova County, in 1940.

Almost all of Barbu Socolescu's projects are in the industrial field, particularly in the food industry. • Slănic Salt Mine Employee Housing Building (Salina Slănic), Prahova County, in 1942. • Social complex and canteen of the municipality of Ghimpați, Giurgiu County, in 1942. • Tobacco manufacturing and fermentation warehouse of the Cassa Autonomă a Monopolurilor Regatului României in Râmnicu Sărat and Târgu Jiu, in 1943. • Salt deposit at Ocna Mureș, Alba County, in 1943. • Administrative premises, staff accommodation and warehouses from Cassa Autonomă a Monopolurilor Regatului României in Fălticeni, Suceava County, in 1943. • Oil factory in Craiova, in 1949. • Cement plant of Bicaz, 1951. • Various works for the Medgidia and Fieni cement plants: mechanical workshop, cement paste tank, canteen, administrative pavilion, in 1951 • Many other industrial constructions until 1966, including a vegetable canning factory in Ovidiu, near Constanța. • A slaughterhouse in Ploiești, 1958. • A canning factory in Tecuci (Romanian Moldavia), 1958. • Several other industrial buildings until 1966, including the large Ovidiu vegetable canning factory (later Munca Ovidiu) at Ovidiu near Constanța in 1962. The project actually stretched from 1955 to 1966. In 1966, the plant was expanded to accommodate a Pepsi-Cola bottling line, one of only two production units in the country, the other being in Bucharest. The factory went bankrupt in 2005 and was dissolved. The entire factory has been emptied of its machine tools, and only the building and its metal structures remain clearly recognizable (in April 2024), despite extensions and modifications. It is located in a square bounded by the strada Tulcea and the strada Intrarea petrolului.

• Illustration — Sketch of a casino project for the Astra Româna refinery, Ploiești, Romania, 1937. • Astra Refinery Casino, Ploiești, carried out with his father, Toma T. Socolescu, in 1937. • Orthodox Church of Predeal in 1956 or 1957, another project carried out with his father.

The authorities additionally record the heading Toma Gheorghe Barbu Socolescu. His recorded languages were Romanian, French and English. He was the child of Toma T. Other recorded relations include Toma N. Socolescu, Nicolae G. Socolescu and Ion N.

• Romania UAR Archives (Union of Architects of Romania) - UAR documentary archives (available on site on request). • France Archives of the Paris School of Fine Arts / AGORHA - Plateforme de données de la recherche de l'Institut national d'histoire de l'art / Dictionnaire des élèves architectes de l’École des beaux-arts de Paris (1800-1968) Dictionary database, Paris. • Romania Ion Mincu Architecture and Urbanism University Library, Bucharest. • Socolescu family's archives (Paris, București) including a photographic collection.