Romania, a country that has suffered a lot of damage to its cultural heritage due to emphasis on urbanisation and destruction during communism and the corruption that followed after the fall of the regime. Years of demolition of cultural and protected buildings, authorities that didn’t care and land inherited by people that weren’t in the country anymore are some of the causes for which Romania has lost loads of its cultural heritage. Of course, in recent years many organisations have advocated for these forgotten jewels but a lot of determination is required to fight the different obstacles they face, bureaucratic or otherwise. Because of the many years of not learning the craft of restoration, there is a gap the industry is facing between the little craftsmen left and the younger generations that might be trying to revive these techniques because there is a bigger demand now to reclaim existing architectural historical pieces.
History
However, there are some amazing examples of refurbishments of historical sites almost in ruins such as the Cultural Palace of Blaj by architect Vlad Sebastian Rusu. Initially designed to host the Astra Cultural Association events, the building had its first adjustments made in the 60s to accommodate a cinema space and later on the History and Ethnography Museum of Blaj and the Town’s Library and Blaj’s Wire Broadcasting Centre. After years of decay following the destructive fire in 1995, the Art Deco structure originally designed by architect Victor Smilghelschi in 1930, has been taken up for restoration.
Design
The main aim of the design was to preserve its cultural identity and also respect a quite restrictive budget for this type of project. Preserving the ruins of the old interior brick walls was a decision informed by the architect’s first trip to Blaj, where he was impressed by the architecture of the Centre. He appreciates that although, from the exterior, it seems like a smaller, fragile structure, once you step foot inside the scale of the main room impresses, seemingly in antithesis in scale with its exterior. Another detrimental aspect was the sensory impact felt when seeing the remaining, burnt brick walls.
Interestingly, they have used the initial drawings made by the architect a century before, going through the National Archive to manage to reconstruct the spatial identity desired, thus preserving cultural heritage but still modernising the space. However, they never managed to visually
reconstruct a photograph of the previous design so they used a more personal way, asking the local community to get involved and help reminisce about the past character of the building. This is a rather less used method in Romania, usually, there is a disconnect between the architects and the local community and hopefully, this will encourage using this process in future projects. It is very important for locals to feel listened to when designing a space they have been denied for years to better impact the way they use it and their needs.
The architect agrees indeed that the most challenging part was reinforcing the periled interior brick walls, the reconstruction of the roof, and the mechanical ventilation for the main halls on a restricted budget, so the rest of the space was designed with simplicity to be able to stay within it. Most of the construction has revolved around the structural elements for reconsolidating the affected walls, leaving little budget for the finishes. Therefore, the whole concept of the design is that the new features are realised to be neutral, in white so the old creates a contrast that strikes the viewer with the complexity of the textures.
Another part of the brief was to design a multi-purpose space that can be adapted easily for different kinds of uses of the main hall such as theatre plays, music shows or even removing the seats completely to transform it into an events room. A lot of the focus has been shifted to the more affected areas like the interiors, leaving the exterior to its initial design.
Simplicity and design eloquence characterise the ingenuity of the architect and his very skilled construction team, managing to revive a forgotten cultural center in the little town at the heart of Transylvania creating a space for the local community to come together and have a sense of togetherness. Although these cultural palaces have been for a long time in Romanian towns a way for locals to enjoy different shows and form interpersonal relationships, lack of funding for years has left many of them in a tragic state. Blaj Cultural Palace not only impresses with its genial design that manages to preserve history and cultural identity through its textured walls that many might consider demolishing but also brings hope for Romanian people that soon many of these centers will be refurbished to heal the intrinsic need for arts and beauty everyone has.
References:
Rusu, V.S., 2016. Blaj Cultural Palace Refurbishment. ArchDaily. Available at: https:// www.archdaily.com/790795/blaj-cultural-palace-refurbishment-vlad-sebastian-rusu-architecture office [Accessed 20 Apr. 2025].
Rusu, V.S., 2025. Catastrofă, abandon, viață nouă. Interviu despre reabilitarea Palatului Cultural din Blaj. e-zeppelin.ro. Available at: https://e-zeppelin.ro/catastrofa-abandon-viata-noua-interviu despre-reabilitarea-palatului-cultural-din-blaj/[Accessed 20 Apr. 2025]
Dragomir, C., 2025. Fotografii pentru reabilitarea Palatului Cultural din Blaj. [fotografie] Disponibil la: https://e-zeppelin.ro/catastrofa-abandon-viata-noua-interviu-despre-reabilitarea palatului-cultural-din-blaj/ [Accessed 20 apr. 2025]
