Partial conclusions drawn from the site works

A rehabilitation-restoration-conservation intervention in itself is not sustainable unless it connects over a long period of time and in each of its elements to the real needs and expectations of the community.

The act of restoration is not singular, it melts into a multitude of activities and is part of a metabolic sequence that ultimately aims at normality.

We are interested in the "map-territory" relationship. The map is mental, based on research, strategy and has inherent utopian ingredients. The territory is current reality, ever-changing and never fully known. The map-territory binomial requires a continuous balancing effort, adaptation of projects and at the same time firmness to preserve the overall coherence of the project. The element of surprise provided by the collateral activities that run alongside the main consolidation-rehabilitation-restoration activity maintains the vitality of the programs, which are growing each year.

The recovery of objects from the urban area has been transferred to the countryside in a very questioning way. We have tried, through everything we have done, to pour from the Petre P. Carp mansion to the community technologies, knowledge, materials, new forms of objects, new ways of using spaces with the aim of putting into a natural circuit a multitude of relationships that have been degraded to the point of derision for a long time.

The concept of "creative traditions" is currently being explored to remove from the collective mind the false perception of heritage as an outdated, romantic and non-productive subject. Collections of objects (ceramics, metal, wood) produced in local workshops are already in the pipeline to respond to current needs and provide jobs.

The teams involved in the project and in the life of the community go beyond the architectural project itself. They adopt a pro-active attitude, trying to create in successive stages the future projects that will complete a cultural landscape that is still unrecognized.

Text credits: Alexandra Mihailciuc and Șerban Sturdza, taken from the book "The Art of Ironwork. Practical blacksmithing guide for children and adults", authors Alexandra Mihailciuc, Sylvain Gabriel, Pro Patrimonio Foundation, 2017

Alexandra Mihailciuc, Andrei Tache, Batemul ferro la conac! cultural newspaper, no 3, 2019, powered by Maria Association

Illustration credits: Alexandra Culescu, taken from the book "The Great Small World", authors Alexandra Mihailciuc, Alexandra Culescu, ACS Publishing House, 2019 and "The Book of Houses", authors Alexandra Mihailciuc, Alexandra Culescu, ACS Publishing House, 2022