Don't shy away from a different approach to construction

Thematic dossier

DO NOT SHY AWAY FROM APPROACHING CONSTRUCTIONS DIFFERENTLY

Fidelitas hotel and hostel

I have spent a few short vacations in the area over the last few years. I visited Balvanyos, Miercurea Ciuc, Covasna, Sovata, Odorheiu Secuiesc. I have not stopped in Sfântu Gheorghe, but now I plan and have reason to visit this city. The reason is the Fidelitas Hotel realized by the two architects who attracted my attention and interest. I noticed in the area obvious improvements of the localities, kind and friendly people. I saw a small town - Sovata - surprising: beautiful houses, economically and architecturally performing, good restaurants. Around the lakes there is a superb pedestrian route, with well-placed resting places at vantage points, bicycle paths, street lighting and signposts with detailed explanations (another Biennale award-winning project).

There are also positive developments throughout the area, with many projects completed or in various stages of development. Public administration is often competent and active. As the investment process is developed through the convergence of important factors - developer, administration, financier, architect, builder, it is evident that contemporary approaches show a higher general cultural level than in other areas.

So the performance of colleagues Áron Lóránt Török and Laszlo-Mihaly Wegroszta comes in a good climate and shows an excellent cultural and professional background.

The attitude towards a product from a - usually reviled, often without reason - period shows wisdom and talent. The same can be said of the promoter, who had the vision and the strength to overcome ridiculous prejudices. This team had the courage to bet on restoring and rehabilitating a dilapidated building in a non-commercial location and to invest money, time, energy and talent in a project that most would have considered risky. They did it!
A building that said nothing has become a respectable hotel, well appreciated by its users. Good hotel services double a project with certain architectural qualities. The pergola, built on the street alignment, delimits a semi-private, transparent and interesting space. The horizontal construction element - the new pergola - obviously amends the proportion of the façade. Moreover, vertically, the service area is demarcated from the accommodation area. In the interior, the old corridors, punctuated with brickwork panels, have become an interesting architectural element. The rooms are beautifully designed in a variety of furnishings and equipment.

The load-bearing masonry building probably could not have been remodeled, so the interior fittings, realized in specific spaces, are a testament to the professional skills of the designers and builders alike.

Their success shows that many buildings, which were built with great care in a period of severe economic constraints and when technological possibilities were also limited, could be wisely rehabilitated or converted to a new functional use. There should be no partisan ideological motivation in good quality architecture. Obviously, exceptions exist, for better or for worse, and perhaps they will be the subject of comments to come.

Sorin GABREA: What do you think about the investment phenomenon in your area?

Laszlo-Mihaly Wegroszta: Medium and large-scale private sector investments are relatively rare in our region. Most investments in civil construction are publicly financed and commissioned. Larger private investments are limited to industrial or agricultural buildings (halls). For this reason, the investment realized at the Fidelitas Hotel was a very fortunate event, but the right attitude of the project promoter and the builder was the cause of the success of this building. In recent years, even in our own country, a beneficial increase in the level of desire for quality in architecture and construction can be felt, both in the beneficiaries and in the builders.

Sorin Gabrea: How did the developer decide to do the project, how did he choose you, what are your opinions about the work, how does the hotel work? Does the developer have other projects he would like to realize with your team?

L.M.W.: The beneficiary of the project gave, in a way, a free hand to the builder in the realization of the project, including the choice of the design team. The beneficiary wanted a building for the proposed function, and the builder understood that the building (which had been unused for years and was for sale at the time) suited the needs of the beneficiary. As a result of earlier positive cooperation, the builder commissioned my colleague Török Áron with this work, who in turn asked me if I would like to collaborate on the project. We had been discussing a possible collaboration for some time and this was the perfect opportunity to start working together. We were very happy for this project because this building deserved all our attention. The wish of the beneficiary was that it should be divided between the two functions: hotel and student dormitory. At the moment, the ground floor rooms are used by the students of Sapientia University, while the rest of the building is used as a hotel, with 3 and 2 star rooms (which were originally dormitory rooms). The hotel, since it opened its doors, has a high occupancy rate. In the city, the number of good quality accommodation rooms is small and the good quality service offered by Fidelitas Hotel is one more reason for guests to come here. The collaboration with the builder has continued and continues to this day.

Áron Lóránt TÖRÖK (b.1978)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Openworks

2005 - Bachelor of Architecture at Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Faculty of Architecture, high level studio training
2010 - Postgraduate Course on Rehabilitation of Historical Monuments, "Babeș-Bolyai" University
Since 2008 - associate architect in Open Works Srl., Sf. Gheorghe
2005-2007 - Project architect in 3H Építésziroda Kft, MCXVI Építészműterem Kft, TEAMAJOR Kft, Érd, Hungary
2003-2004 - ERASMUS student at the Technical University of Lisbon, Faculty of Architecture, Portugal

AWARDS
2001 - Competition Prize for the revitalization of a barracks territory
2002 - Velux Student Competition Award for a sculptor's studio (with János Vági)
2006 - National Architecture Competition Award for the reception building of the Pannonhalma Abbey (with János Vági)

László - Mihaly WEGROSZZTA (b. 1976)
2003 - graduate of the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca.
Since 2007 - architectural and scenographic design in Wegroszta László Wegroszta's Individual Architecture Office.

Competitions, awards:
1999 - Mention U.I.A. student competition "Architecture for the eradication of poverty".
2005 - UNITER Nominalization - debut for scenography.
2008 - Competition Award for the design of the funeral chapels in Chilieni and Coșeni.

Sorin Gabrea: What is the impact of the premiere of the project at BNA? Echoes in the media?

L.M.W.: The award ceremony at BNA, which took place in Oradea, was a great joy, first of all for us. We were very happy that all those who appreciated the project also saw the roots of our intentions and our attitude towards this project and especially towards this strange socialist-realist building. We have received congratulations from colleagues (by word of mouth or likes and positive comments on facebook), but also from people who have nothing directly to do with architecture. We don't know about media echoes.

Sorin Gabrea: How was the project received by the city residents?

L.M.W.: The people of the city (especially the generation that was able to see the building in its original function), from the time the construction work started, were happy that something was "moving" there. After the work was finished and the hotel opened, the reactions were positive. A lot of events are organized in the conference hall and so a lot of people from the city and beyond are able to see the building which, between 1958-2016, was almost a fortress with very limited access.

SUMMARY ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE, NR.2-3/2019
BNA 2018 600 For the Future