Several Notes on the Rural Architectural Tradition | Several Notes on the Rural Architectural Tradition

In analyzing the secular building tradition in the Romanian countryside, we must refer to two basic strands, technically identifiable in this area since the Neolithic period: the semi-buried dwelling and the surface dwelling.

The semi-underground dwelling was the product of times in which immediate utility and adaptation to a particular environment took precedence, in which indoor activities were reduced to a minimum and the inhabitants were accustomed to acting mainly in the open air, in which the insecurity generated by internal conflicts or by earlier and more recent invasions did not stimulate investment in housing, in which relative social homogeneity did not stimulate competition for status and emulation, exhibited through the home. Consequently, the semi-buried dwelling of those periods was built in areas where the water table was deep (predominantly on the plains), from perishable materials available in that area, had limited living space, was dark, and therefore unsuitable for indoor activities that capitalized on visual acuity. The advantage of keeping warm in winter and cool in summer was outweighed by the disadvantage of water infiltration or flooding in heavy rain. The advantage of such a dwelling - in a given historical context - of being well concealed in the terrain could only be preserved by limiting the plan development and height, thus curbing the building initiative. For these reasons, although semi-underground dwellings (bordes) continued to exist in the countryside until the beginning of the 20th century, they were owned in the last century of their existence only by poor families and marginal members of the community, the three-roomed bordes in the Romanaților plain being exceptions that can be explained by the higher social and economic status of the owners. Considered unsuitable for modern housing standards and assimilated to the image of economic and social backwardness, the architectural vein represented by the 'bordeie' has died out after a long period of existence, but marked by conceptual immobility and stagnation at the technical and functional level. We believe that the reinterpretation in a modern key of some of the traditional elements characteristic of the evolved bordei (the typical load-bearing wooden structure, the roofing of earth with roofs, the floor plan with the fire room at its core, the type of entrance, etc.) is possible insofar as modern materials ensure watertightness without affecting the traditional natural materials, and certain traditional elements of the rural surface dwelling are creatively incorporated into the final structure, creating a synthesis.

When analyzing the secular building tradition in rural Romania, we must consider the two fundamental building patterns which have been technically identifiable in this area ever since the Neolithic: the half-buried house and the over-ground house.

The half-buried house was the product of an era when unquestioned utilitarianism and adaptation to a certain environment prevailed; when indoor activities were confined as much as possible, and the tenants were mainly used with the outdoor life; when the insecurity generated by domestic conflicts or older invasions did not stimulate investment in one's personal dwelling; when the relative social homogeneity did not encourage competition for status and emulation, exhibited by means of the house. Consequently, the half-buried dwelling of those eras was built in the areas with deep groundwater (and mainly in the plain) of perishable materials available there; it had limited living space, it was dark, and therefore inadequate for the indoor activities which relied on visual acuteness. The advantage of ensuring good heat preservation in winter and coolness in summer was counterbalanced by the disadvantage of water infiltrations or flooding during heavy rain. The advantage - in a certain historical context - of being well concealed by the landscape could only be kept by limiting the planimetric development and the height, thus limiting the building initiative. For this reason, while the half-buried huts (bordeie) continued in the rural area up until the beginning of the^20th century, they were mainly owned, during their last century of existence, by the poor families and the outcast; the three-room huts to be found in the Romanați plain were exceptions to be accounted for by the superior social-economic status of their owners. Considered inadequate for the modern living standards and representative for social and economic backwardness in general, the architectural pattern represented by half-buried huts died away, after a long existence marked, nevertheless, by conceptual immobility and technical and functional stagnation. However, a number of traditional elements characteristic of the more evolved huts (the typical load-bearing structure made of wood, the grassy earth covering, the planimetry concentrated around the "fire" room, the type of entrance etc.) could be reinterpreted in a modern key, provided that the modern materials ensure tightness without damaging the natural traditional materials and that certain traditional elements of the over-ground rural dwelling are implicated creatively in the final structure, achieving a synthesis.