Toma T. Socolescu

Toma T. Socolescu
Toma T. Socolescu in his youth.
Born	20 July 1883 Ploiești
Died	16 October 1960 Bucharest
Nationality	Romanian
Alma mater	Ion Mincu University
Occupation	Architect
Awards	First prize in the contest for the Palace of the Municipality of Bucharest (1925), Honorary citizen of the city of Ploiești, Member of the Order of the Crown of Romania to the rank of officer
Practice	Architecture, urban planning, archeology, university education, culture, politics, journalism
Buildings	Central hall and St John cathedral of Ploiești
Projects	City planning of Ploiești, city radius increase
Design	Brâncovenesc style,

Toma T. Socolescu, (20 July 1883 in Ploiești – 16 October 1960 in Bucharest, Romania) was an important Romanian architect. A pillar of Romanian architecture from the early 20th century until World War II, he devoted his life to his native Prahova County, especially the city of Ploiești. He also contributed significantly to his country's cultural life.

Born into a family of architects that marked Romanian modern architecture until the Second World War, Toma T. Socolescu left a consistent legacy of outstanding constructions, cultural foundations and literature related to Romanian architecture and its evolution. His works are still regarded as a reference in the world of arts and architecture. A dozen of his projects have been classified as historical monuments.

The son and nephew of architects, he studied in 1901 at and then enrolled at the Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism, then known as the National School of Architecture, where he was the student of Ion Mincu, the leading expert in Romanian architecture at the beginning of the 20th century. In June 1911, he graduated with highest honors, specializing in civil and religious architecture and Romanian archaeology. He returned to this institution to teach architectural theory from 1929 to 1947.

He began his career as a designer at the Central Post Office in Bucharest in 1904. In 1906 he was hired as a designer by a large workshop of architects dedicated to building the infrastructure of the 'Romanian General Exhibition of 1906'. Carol Park was specially designed for this event by the French landscape architect Édouard Redont. The exhibition ran from 6 June to 23 November 1906 in Bucharest. The event was organized by the Romanian Government in honor of the 40-year reign of Carol I of Romania. This opportunity put him in contact with leading artists and architects of the time and had a decisive impact on the rest of his career.

His travels to Vienna, Constantinople and Budapest in 1913, to Italy (15 December 1923 to 20 February 1924, and January 1937) and to France represented significant milestones in his life. In these places he found inspiration for his work in Romania.