Cultural Palace, Blaj

Architect: Vlad Sebastian Rusu
Text: Edit Pálinkás
Photos: Cosmin Dragomir

The Cultural Palace was designed in the year 1930 by the Bucharest architect Victor Smigelschi. In the winter of 1995 a violent fire burnt down most of the building, severely damaging the roof and the interior space of the main hall. It remained a ruin until 2012, when the municipality initiated a project for the rehabilitation and refunctionalisation of the Palace. The building would be predesignated to incorporate a flexible multipurpose hall, which could be lit both artificially and by daylight, and which could host a wide variety of cultural events such as concerts, galas, theatre plays, conferences, exhibitions etc.
With the benefit of historical research and with technical expertise it was decided that the spatial and functional design concept of the building, which was now a ruin, would follow the initial project. That decision meant that the alterations that were made in order to accommodate the later institutions had to be removed. The new design follows two directions: firstly, to evoke the recent tragic history of the building and secondly, to create a flexible interior and exterior space that can easily be adapted to the needs of the community that it serves. The main hall becomes a multi-purpose space by removing all the seating and through the addition of more daylight through the new roof lights. Other small reversible changes such as, the metal structure of the roof, the brick cladding and the suspended ceiling reminds the visitor of the recent fire.

Architecture: Vlad Sebastian Rusu Architecture Office
Architect: Vlad Sebastian Rusu
General manager: Asiza Birou de Arhitectură
Collaborators: Ilinca Marcu, Cătălin Iliescu, Teodor Vintilă, Raluca Mirea, Felicia Todericiu
Archive research: Ioana Bârsan, Vlad Sebastian Rusu
Economic documantation: Prima Invest, Florin Pop
Structure: Asiza Birou de Arhitectură, Ovidiu Rusu
Installation design: Grad Instal, Paul Biriş
Stage technology design: Bosch Rexroth
Builder: K&Kiss, Herbau
Site supervisors: Nicuşor Pintea, Adrian Pastiu
Client: City of Blaj