The Revitalization Project of Theresa Bastion, Timișoara

Architects: Marius Miclăuş – Archaeus Architects
Text: Ferencz Fenesi
Photos: Stefan Tuchila

Winning the nationwide contest for the reconstruction of protected historical monuments in Timișoara must have been an exceptional challenge for the Archaeus team of architects managed by Marius Miclăuş as Theresa Bastion built between 1736 and 1738 is the only A category monument of the town and the last one to survive and thus represent its cultural continuity. The basic conception targeted to create a complex integrated into the preserved 18th-century structure to meet the needs of its immediate urban environments whilst suited to house social-cultural institutions as well. According to the original plan, it is to grow into a socio-cultural centre by time which is suited to house banks and public institutions – such as the Temes County Chamber of Architects, the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Faculty of Medicine – as an open urban-communal area enriched with galleries and cafés. Designers paid special attention to durable historical materials – such as the plaster, five different types of bricks, two kinds of stone and wood – whilst also exposing the mistaken and unprofessional interventions made during the restoration project in the 1970s.

Design: Archaeus – Marius Miclăuş
Architects: Bogdan Raţ, Claudiu Toma, Codruţa Negrulescu, Maja Bâldea, Marius Miclăuş, Zsolt Varday, Brinduşa Havasi, Beatrice Lucaci, Nicolae Olteanu, Cristian Blidariu, Vasile Oprişan – Atelier Trei; Cosmin Bloju, Codruţa Negrulescu, Oana Sârbu, Victor Popovici, Claudia Godean – Parasitestudio; Claudiu Toma
Structure: Sc Corona Timexim Srl
Interior strucure: Capabil Srl, G&C Market Castelli Srl, Prowasser Srl
Topography: A&C Geodetic Team
Environment: Constantin Berar
Restoration: Ileana Zbirnea, Iulian Olteanu
Client: Temes Megyei Önkormányzat, Temesvár Városi Önkormányzata