Group: 40E

Team: Andreea Alexandra Călimănescu

Cristina Cîrlig
Iulia Sabina Dudu

Blaj Cultural Palace

- case study no 2 -

1. General data
1.1. The project is called
Blaj Cultural Palace
Refurbishment.
1.2. The building is
located near the 1848 Square, in
the historic centre of Blaj, Alba
Country. In the centre of this
square, there is a park with the
same name. The streets that
surround the park are paved
with cobblestone. It seems like
cars are also allowed around the
green area, as there are several
parking spaces on each side of
the park. The Cultural Palace is a
corner building and it has two
street facades, being placed at
the intersection between the
square and another road. Other
significant public institutions
can be found around the 1848
Square: the Town Hall, the
Episcopal Palace, a catholic
church, a high school and the
Faculty of Theology of
University Babeș Bolyai (Fig. 1
and 2).
1.3. Victor Smigelschi Fig. 1. Google Maps localiztion. Blaj Cultural Palace is marked with a red label

was the architect that designed

this construction in 1930. The architect Vlad Sebastian Rusu and his office were selected in 2012 to be
in charge of the restoration.
1.4. I think this building can be included in the second category, meaning a construction that
needs substantial interventions or additions. It cannot be considered a ruin because the initial volume
was still distinguishable before the restauration had begun. The original height of the walls and the
placement of the openings could be determined prior to any new works. Although some partition
walls were destroyed, it was relatively easy to understand the function and the limit of the spaces.
The Cultural Palace cannot be included in the first category either, because the entire roof of the
events hall was missing.
 2. Brief history

Initially, the building was

supposed to accommodate the
cultural events organized by
ASTRA (the Transylvanian
Association for Romanian
Literature and Romanian’s
People Culture). I believe it is
important to mention that
Smigelschi family contributed
significantly to the development
of the Romanian culture. For
instance, Victor’s uncle, the
professor and Catholic canon
with the same name (1856 –
1918), was the one responsible
for re-editing and annotating the
“Bible from Blaj”, firstly
published in 1795. This book is
meaningful because it represents
the second translation of the
Fig. 2. Site plan of Blaj Cultural Palace Holy Scriptures, done by Samuil
Micu-Klein, a key representative
of Transylvanian School (Școala Ardeleană).
In the early 1960’s, the construction suffered several modifications in order to accommodate
a new function in the town, namely a cinema. Therefore, the main hall was changed accordingly.
During the same period, the first floor was rethought and transformed into the History and
Ethnography Museum of Blaj. The Library and the Wire Broadcasting Centre of Blaj were also placed
at the same floor.
The inside of the concert hall, as well as its roof burnt severely during a violent fire that broke
out in the winter of 1995. After this incident, the building had been left unused for 17 years and it
gradually deteriorated. Because of that, the city administration of Blaj started in 2012 a project for
refurbishing the Cultural Palace and helping it meet the highest standards (Fig. 3). One of the main
requirements was to create a
flexible, multipurpose hall,
both naturally and artificially
lit. The Cultural Palace would
host the activity of the Alba
branch of the Romanian
Academy, as well as numerous
events, such as: concerts,
galas, theatre plays,
conferences, exhibitions and
others.
Through all these
restoration interventions, the
town of Blaj regained an
essential public multi-cultural
facility.
Fig. 3. Petru Pavel Aron Street elevation, after the restoration
Fig. 4. Plans and sections before and after
3. General description

As I mentioned earlier, the Cultural Palace is a corner building with two elevations visible form
the street. Both facades were redone. This construction has two blind walls, one in the north-west,
which the building touches partially, and one in the south-east, left uncovered (only the fence touches
this blind wall). The Palace has an L-shaped courtyard open to the public and furnished with tables
and chairs (Fig. 4).
The ground floor is equipped with all the necessary spaces in order to make the events hall
function properly: an entrance hallway, a large foyer with a cloakroom, toilets and technical rooms.
The multifunctional hall can accommodate up to 200 viewers and it is directly connected to the
courtyard. On the first floor, one can find the 50 seats balcony, several offices, the cabins for the
actors, as well as a spacious terrace that looks over Petru Pavel Aron Street.

Fig. 5. The performance hall before

Fig. 6. The performance hall after

Obviously, the main space in the entire building is the multipurpose hall. The old structure of
the wall was left visible, and all the openings were preserved. Because the beneficiary insisted on
having natural light coming in, the metallic roof has two skylights, on the left and on the right, placed
at a different height than the ceiling (Fig. 5, 6, 10 and 11).
4. Existing problems prior to restoration

First of all, the structure of the building

was not strong enough to support any new
function. The walls, the slabs and the foundation
were weakened. The performance hall and the
stage area were uncovered.
The exterior image of the Cultural
Palace was extremely deteriorated, with broken Fig. 7. Blaj Cultural Palace before
windows, stained and mouldy walls (Fig. 7). The
existing roof was covered with rusty metallic shingles. Inside the building, nature took over. Trees,
overgrown grass and bushes filled the space. As a result, the elements of the facades (decorations,
corniches, the balusters of the exterior balcony and terrace, the exterior render based on plaster and
paint, the rain pipes) had to be redone.
All sanitary, electrical and technical installations were
outdated and unable to meet the contemporary standards of use
and safety.

5. Intervention scenario

Before any intervention works, the architect in charge with

the restoration did a historical research, hoping to find any records
that would describe the initial project done by Victor Smigelschi.
Fortunately, the sections of the original project were preserved in
the National Archives, together with some pictures of the exterior,
which were taken shortly after the inauguration. However, there
is no documentation that describes the interior design of the main
hall the way it was envisioned by Smigelschi.
The architect Vlad Sebastian Rusu decided to eliminate any
changes done in the 1960’s and followed the original plans and
sections. I believe this was a good choice because the initial

Fig. 8. The foyer before

project was tailored according to the

needs of a performance hall, and not to
also accommodate a museum, a library
and a broadcasting centre. Since the
function required by the beneficiary was
also a performance space, it was suitable
to use the old design without the
additions introduced more than half a
century ago.
In order to make the main space
more flexible, the architect proposed to
Fig. 9. The foyer after
remove the fixed chairs and to introduce
two skylights for natural light.
 Moreover, in this scenario,
remembering the recent history was a
vital point. The architect wished to
evoke somehow the fire incident.

6. Description of the interventions

Some parts of the structure were

reinforced using concrete, for example
the walls of the multifunctional hall. The
brick structure of these walls was left
exposed. Moreover, some brick
Fig. 10. The balcony before decorations were added to the walls
and stage base (Fig. 12). The other walls
of the building were plastered and painted in white.
The roof of the events hall has a metallic structure and it features two skylights placed higher
that the ceiling. There is also an obstruction system to blocks the sunlight. The roof covering the stage
was reconstructed and the one covering the upper rooms was consolidated. All of them have metallic
shingles.
The fixed chairs were eliminated, so that the performance space can be as flexible as possible.
The floor inside this hall was treated with epoxy raisin to provide mechanical resistance. Natural stone
tiles were used as finishing for the entrance hall and foyer floor.
Contemporary light fixtures were added on the ceiling of the main hall and under the balcony.
The suspended ceiling that hides the installations is made out of Corten steel, to remind of
the fire, as the architect said. The same material was used for some doors (Fig. 8 and 9).
Where possible,
the original frames of the
doors and windows were
preserved and
rehabilitated.
All sanitary,
electrical, and technical
installations were replaced
according to the function
of the building.
For the courtyard,
a combination of mineral
and vegetal elements was
used in order to express
the mix between the Fig. 11. The balcony after
artistic world of the Palace
(vegetal) and the urban
universe (mineral).

7. Evaluation in relation to the intervention principles

In a restoration project, it is important to highlight the previous volume and its characteristics
and preserve as much as possible from the old project. As it is written in Venice Charter (Article no.
9), any restoration work should start by doing a historical research, which, in this case, was done by
the architect responsible with the refurbishment. He decided to stick to the original plans and sections.
 In the same
document mentioned
earlier, it says the
restoration has to end
where the hypothesis
starts. I consider that
the architect respected
this principle. There
were no records about
the interior finishing of
the performance hall, so
all new interventions
(the roof, the floor) Fig. 12. New brick decorations added around the stage
were done in a
contemporary manner.
I believe the overall volume was well preserved. However, the use of concrete to consolidate
some parts of the building was not appropriate. Concrete is not a flexible material. If any changes
should be done in the future, those parts of the Palace cannot be modified. From the structural point
of view, concrete and brick do not work well together because they have different seismic behaviour.
Using metallic trusses for the structure of the roof that covers the main hall was a better option
because future modifications can be made easier. Despite the good choice in terms of materials, the
skylights of the roof are placed at a different level that the ceiling. This aspect could be solved by
prolonging somehow the ceiling until it touches the walls. The architect could have used a transparent
material or to change the positions of the skylights from the beginning (if this alternative was possible).
Leaving the structure of the main hall walls visible can have a negative impact on the bricks
and the mortar between them. Small fragments may fall down because of the sound vibration. The
bricks should have been coated with a thin, permeable layer of plaster.
New brick decorations were added to the walls and the base of the stage. In my opinion, this
decision does not respect the Article no. 12 from Venice Charter, which states that any additions or
replacements have to respect the original design in order not to falsify the historic traces. Therefore,
someone that enters the building for the first time and has no idea about how the palace used to look
like before the intervention would assume those brick decorations were part of the original design,
which is not true.
I appreciate the fact that some of the original parts of the building were preserved and
rehabilitated, such as door and window frames, because they recreate the initial image of the
construction.

8. Conclusions and observations

Blaj Cultural Palace contains cases of good and bad restoration practices. After analysing this
example, I think I understood better the principles that have to be respected in case of a restoration.
For instance, it is essential to know how the building looked like in the past and to work with the
existing as much as possible. What is more, one should use flexible materials that allow for future
changes. In this case, the metallic structure of the roof was a more appropriate decision than the
concrete consolidation of the walls.
The architect should always try to preserve the original image of a space or volume. Therefore,
the ceiling of the events hall was supposed to be continuous and connected to the walls. Also, it is
important to know that any new modifications, without a historical base, have to be done in a
contemporary manner (not like the brick decorations inside the main hall).
Text adapted from:

Iancu, Ioana, Reabilitarea Palatului Cultural din Blaj. Retrieved from:

https://www.igloo.ro/reabilitarea-si-refunctionalizarea-palatului-cultural-din-blaj/ on 28.03.2020

Bienala Națională de Arhitectură, Reabilitarea și refuncționalizarea Palatului Cultural din Blaj.

Retrieved from: https://www.uar-bna.ro/2016/proiecte/130/ on 28.03.2020

Archdaily, Blaj Cultural Refurbishment/ Vlad Sebastian Rusu. Retrieved from:

https://www.archdaily.com/790795/blaj-cultural-palace-refurbishment-vlad-sebastian-rusu-
architecture-office on 29.03.2020

Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Refurbishment of the Blaj Cultural Palace. Retrieved from:
https://miesarch.com/work/3642 on 29.03.2020

Sources for figures:

Fig. 1.
https://www.google.ro/maps/place/Palatul+Cultural+Blaj/@46.1741807,23.9217612,1779m/data=!
3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x474bf9d8a0497791:0x503f476691b524f3!8m2!3d46.1736922!4d23.921721
Fig. 2 – 11. https://www.uar-bna.ro/2016/proiecte/130/
Fig. 12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GlVvykNOMI