INTBAU Transylvania Workshop

English ¦ Romana

Laslea, Transylvania. Photo © Krupali Uplekar

The INTBAU Transylvanian Village Development Workshop was held in the medieval village of Laslea, administrative centre of the municipality of Laslea, Transylvania, Romania, from 30 August to 7 September 2003.

Click here to take a virtual tour of the village including many images and 3D panoramas (requires QuickTime) at key points, courtesy of workshop participant Tom Hughes of 2HD design.

The workshop was organised by INTBAU and the Norwegian Foundation for Urban Renewal (Stiftelsen Byens Fornyelse), with assistance from local and international partners (see below).

The workshop project was funded by The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Norwegian Directorate for Heritage, the Norwegian Foundation for Urban Renewal and private sponsors.
Old sign found nailed to a tree. Photo © Marian Plaino

Purpose

The purpose of the Workshop project is to assist in the long-term sustainable development of the medieval Saxon villages of Transylvania. The emphasis is on ecological tourism and organic farming.

The participants analysed the qualities of the villages as settlements, and produced New Urbanist-based proposals for a future integration of heritage preservation and sustainable development, including a masterplan for future development of Laslea.

The masterplan includes design guidance for new traditional buildings inside the village and in any future sustainable urban extensions. The masterplan is not intended as a fixed plan for development, but rather as an analysis of future possibilities.

Right, view across the valley of Laslea.
The settlement pattern and land use are characteristic of the Saxon area.
Photo © Tom Hughes

The Charrette

The Workshop included an 8-day Charrette involving the local community and professionals. The international team of practitioners and students included participants from Romania, other parts of Europe and Scandinavia, as well as the USA, Australia and India. The Workshop involved 19 practitioners from abroad who worked with 13 local architects, conservationists, students and citizens.

Participants brought a wide range of skills to the workshop including architecture, civil engineering, urban design, town planning, regeneration, and property development, as well as expertise in cultural heritage and social science.

Leading the Charrette were London based INTBAU secretary and architect Dr Matthew Hardy, USA/Belgian architect-urban designer Joanna Alimanestianu and Norwegian architect-planner, and member of the INTBAU Committee of Honour, Arne Sødal. The trio were assisted by local and international practitioners and students.

The partners and sponsors

In undertaking the Workshop, INTBAU worked with the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. This government agency is running a three-year conservation and sustainable development project in the district, PREM or Preparing a Romanian Village for European Union Membership.

INTBAU is grateful to its collaborators including the Directorate, the Foundation for Culture and Ecology, the local municipalities and the British Charity Mihai Eminescu Trust. The Trust is supported by HRH The Prince of Wales, who has visited the area several times. The Mihai Eminescu Trust in 2001 also published a report about the Saxon villages, written by Kim Wilkie Associates, with a foreword by His Royal Highness.

Click here for more information about the region and the villages, and here for a presentation on the village of Laslea.
(Right, ancient pathway in the woods around Laslea. Photo: Tom Hughes)

Kim Wilkie’s report provided a useful basis for much of the data collection required to underpin the Masterplan proposals. The Masterplan is broadly consistent with the thrust of Kim Wilkie Associate’s report.

Local partners in the Workshop included the Municipality of Laslea. The mayor and councillors provided valuable assistance and information for the process. The local community gave generously in terms of both time and resources and their hospitality and enthusiasm was greatly appreciated by INTBAU and the participants.

Workshop components

The workshop included a number of components to inform the participants about all key aspects of the region, its people and architecture. These included:

Extensive tours of the region’s architecture of Saxon houses and fortified churches with expert commentary from Romanian specialists,

Visits to fortified churches and Saxon house renovations with William Blacker and Caroline Fernolend of the Mihai Eminescu Trust,

A visit to a model farm demonstrating sustainable ‘micro-farming’ techniques, managed by Wolfgang Raddatz and farmed by Daniel Credu.
(Right, Laslea from the south. larger image)

A range of lectures and briefings were provided:

on planning in the region by local architect Dorin Boila;

on the history of Transylvania by Ferenc Csortan of the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs;

on the ADEPT programme by Nat Page and Sarah French;

on the Protected Area proposal by Jessica Douglas-Home of the Mihai Eminescu Trust; and

on the Saxon Churches by Senator Hermann Fabini.

Public consultation

Public meeting in Laslea. Photo © Dorin Boila

Public consultation was central to the workshop process. The workshop was based in the Caminul Cultural (Cultural Centre) in the heart of the Saxon village of Laslea, and members of the public were free to visit the team at any time. There was also an extensive public consultation programme as part of the Workshop, which included the following events:

An evening public meeting with the citizens of Laslea attended by the mayor, councillors and 140 residents. The purpose was to hear from the community about local issues, problems and ideas for the future and make sure these ideas were reflected in the Masterplan;

An informal presentation of ‘working in progress’ (right) to receive feedback from the local community on draft proposals. This was attended by around 30 residents; and

A public exhibition on the final evening of the workshop to present the proposed masterplan and supporting documentation and listen to community views about the masterplan proposals for the future of Laslea and other Saxon villages.

During the workshop a questionnaire on attitudes to cultural heritage, which was commissioned by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage, was run in Romanian by participants under the direction of London based planner/urban designer Susan Parham who designed the survey with assistance from Terje Nypan of the Directorate. The results fed into the overall design Masterplan. Key findings will be included in the written Masterplan document when completed. A separate questionnaire analysis report will also be available in due course.

Data collection and Masterplan development

Through an interactive, community based process, Charrette participants collected a wealth of data about the community of Laslea, including its:

Landscape ecology and climate;

Cultural heritage;

Urban fabric including housing and other built form typologies;

Services and facilities;

Infrastructure (especially in relation to the key issue of water supply);

Transport and accessibility arrangements;

Human activities including enterprises and employment notably in relation to traditional agriculture;

Population profile and village identity issues; and

Governance, planning and taxation structure.

Masterplan - key proposals

The Masterplan then produced by the participants included the following key proposals:
(Right, the preliminary masterplan. Larger image)

Landscapes

A village landscape protection zone should be extended to the forest edge. This should take two forms: covering the built up village and the surrounding landscape. Together these should encompass streetscapes, houses, barns, vegetable gardens, and farming land.

A biodiversity corridor and linear park should be developed along the river system.

The remnant pedestrian path network including along the river system and on back alleys should be redeveloped and new paths built - as shown on the masterplan - with all paths simply marked and mapped to promote walking tourism.

Houses and streets

There are a number of households without shelter or suffering from very poor housing conditions. Assistance and training should be given to those in housing need to meet their housing requirements. The Masterplan shows proposals for new housing areas in northern and southern areas of the village.

Traditional housing typologies should be protected and maintained by use of traditional materials and renovation techniques.

Houses which are not yet connected to gas, electricity and water should be connected as soon as possible.

Traditional streetscapes should be protected and enhanced through street tree planting and measures to slow traffic to encourage use by all especially children.

Services and facilities

Low impact ecological drainage and sewage systems should be instituted.

Common service trenching should be used when introducing these improvements.

Public baths should be developed close to the dispensary.

A youth centre should be developed at the cinema next to the Caminul Cultural.

New bridges for pedestrians should be developed at a number of points shown on the Masterplan.

Petrol pumps should be located in a low key way at the centre of the village.

Nodes of activity

Existing nodes of activity within the village which are supported by walkable catchments should be supported and reinforced by new activities as appropriate.

A market with simple stall structures should be developed near the key intersection of Saxon St and Romanian St close to river, bufet and general stores.

Urban Infill

Three main sites exist within the village that are suitable for mixed-use development in which the balance between housing and other uses will vary as appropriate. These are sites to the west, east and north shown on the masterplan - suitable for mixed use of housing, business and industry.

The vacant site on Saxon St should be developed as a civic building acting to maintain the traditional building line and providing vista termination from Romanian Street.

Urban expansion

The policy is to develop within the village before developing outside the built up area. Any new development areas should be contiguous with existing development.

It is assumed that any urban expansion will be phased. Three areas have been identified for sustainable urban extensions and are shown on the Masterplan. These are on the northern edge of the village, the southern edge behind the mill and in the longer term the area between the two rivers.

Local Enterprise

Ecotourism projects including guesthouses and micro-farms should be supported and encouraged within the existing urban fabric.

A guesthouse should be developed at the priest’s house as part of a network of guest accommodation based in former priests’ houses in adjoining villages.

An equestrian centre should be developed on the southern outskirts of the village.

The mill’s continued operation should be supported.

A centre for building construction information and skills training should be developed in a central location within the village.

A tourism information centre should be located at the general store.

An internet facility/cafe could be developed at the library, a cafe or other suitable location.

The project team

The project team, in the Caminul Cultural, Laslea, Transylvania.

Back Row:
Matthew Hardy, Anca Multescu, Mihaela Paul, Marius Sandu (arms raised), Raluca Geniou, Florence Salberter, Arne Sødal, George Ghelase.
Middle Row:
Alina Hughes, Nicholas Alimanestianu, Ove Oot, Robert Patzschke, Nataly Shelepova, A Village Child, Susan Parham.
Seated:
Tom Hughes, Luke Moloney, Ioana Bitu, Andrei Multescu, Mrs Povera, Joanna Alimanestianu.
Crouching:
Sophie Woronoff, Krupali Uplekar, Iuliana-Adela Plaino, Dorin Boila.
Far right:
Michael Ritchie.
Not Present:
Audun Engh, Olav Bjerve, Adda Gheorghievici.

Further information

For further information about the project please contact INTBAU.