SC CRINDESIGN PROJECT SRL Palace of the Dacia
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SC CRINDESIGN PROJECT SRL Bucharest, District 2, zip code 020377, 109/36 Tei Bd., Tel / Fax: 0311072238, email: [email protected] Trade Reg. Entry No. J40/14289/2011, Fiscal Identity No. 29404350 Stamp: REFITTING WORKS AT THE CEC BANK, LIPSCANI BRANCH, Romania, the Ministry of Culture BENEFICIARY: CEC BANK SA Arch. Laura Ilie EXPERT no. 160 E Palace of the Dacia – Romania former insurance company HISTORICAL STUDY November, 2016 Dacia Palace Historical Study, 18-22 Lipscani St. Page 1 of 30 - CONTENTS - 1 OBJECT AND PURPOSE OF THE STUDY _____________________________ 3 1.1 Location of the immovable asset __________________________________________ 3 1.2. Purposes and method of study _________________________________________ 10 2 LEGAL PROTECTION STANDARD__________________________________ 11 3 HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL RESEARCH OF THE BUILDING. ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT __________________ ____________________________ 11 3.1. History / Description __________________________________________________ 11 3.2. Utilities _____ _____________________________________ ______________ 15 3.3. Modifications of the building in terms of function, general function, adornments ____ 15 3.4. Technical description of the building _____________________________________ 19 3.4.1. Structure of the building _____ ____________________ ___________________ 19 3.4.2. Earthquake response ________________________________________________ 21 4. GLOBAL ASSESSMENT OF THE MONUMENT OF HISTORICAL RELEVANCE 21 4.1 Value in terms of age - authenticity ________________________________________ 21 4.2. Memorial symbolic value _____________________________ _______________ 23 4.3. Architectural value ________________________________________ ___________ 24 4.4. Value in terms of rarity - uniqueness ___ _____________________________ __ 25 5. POSSIBLE INTERVENTIONS _______________________________________ 26 Dacia Palace Historical Study, 18-22 Lipscani St. Page 2 of 30 1 OBJECT AND PURPOSE OF THE STUDY 1.1 Location of the immovable asset The building that this study refers to is located in the historical center of the city of Bucharest, at the intersection of the most important streets, Lipscani and Smârdan. The current Old Center of Bucharest, also known as the Historical Center, began to form around the year 1600, when the first inns and stores opened in the area of the Prince’s Court. The later development of the area was due to the concentration of political and economic power in Bucharest, when, after 1660, the city became the only capital of the Walachia. The period of greatest blooming was recorded during the reign of Prince Constantin Brancoveanu, when the Voivod’s Palace and the nearby buildings were developed and got new looks. The current Franceză Street is the oldest street in Bucharest. In 1692 it was already paved with oak beams. At the time, the area was frequented by the merchants who brought their goods from Leipzig, Germany or from Gabrovo, Bulgaria. This is why we now have two streets that are called Lipscani and Gabroveni. From the very beginning, the area of the current Old Center of Bucharest, developed near the Court of the Prince, was thriving in terms of commerce, having many inns and shops. This feature remained true between 1944 and 1990. During the period of 1944-1989, the commercial character of the area was maintained, as already mentioned. Lipscani Street was home to specialized shops (for linen, garments, shoes, haberdasheries, book stores, etc.) famous workshops where tailors, shoemakers, fur makers and hat makers used to work, as well as shops for plastic artists and art galleries, etc.). The Gabroveni Street and the street currently called Franceză hosted many consignment shops that attracted countless collectors of vintage art. A very important venue was the Performance Hall of the Rapsodia Română Ensemble, where very appreciated artistic events were staged for the general audience. At the end of the communist period, in the 1980s, more precisely in 1984, the building at 18 – 22 Lipscani, the former Dacia Palace, was refitted to host a fashion house, a luxury store, where garments of the finest quality could be bought. The tailor workshops were also there. All of these stores meant that the Lipscani area was always full of buyers coming from all Dacia Palace Historical Study, 18-22 Lipscani St. Page 3 of 30 over Bucharest and from the province in order to make special-occasion purchases. Immediately after 1990, the Old Center lost its importance. The liberalization of trade and the emergence of private shops with similar products to those in the Lipscani area, which were now available in all parts of the city, including the many goods brought from Turkey, meant that the area gradually lost its importance and was abandoned. The very old buildings were abandoned and fell into disrepair. The infrastructure rehabilitation works in the area, started in 2005 with EBRD funds (the European Bank for reconstruction and Development), which entailed the replacement of utility networks, led to the closing down of stores in the area. Given the works for the replacement of the utility networks, they could no longer be supplied and buyers could no longer get inside easily. This situation lasted a long time, since archaeological vestiges were discovered during the time of the works, and they had to be kept and used in the best possible way. After the end of the rehabilitation works and after best using the archaeological vestiges, a slow renovation process began. Taking into account the changes made in the way the town operated, in connection with the construction of large commercial centers of interest, also known as malls, the area of the Old Center received a new function: besides the small specialized shops, numerous cafes, bars and pubs appeared, as well as a theater and the Carturești book store. Thus, Lipscani and the streets of the old center are now one of the tourist attractions of the capital. Here are some of the most important buildings of the old center: - The Stavropoleos Church, which began to be built in 1724, designed according to the Brâncovenesc style and restored by Architect Ion Mincu, in 1899; - The National Bank of Romania, built between 1883 and 1885; - Manuc's Inn, built in 1808, - The Linden Tree Inn (Hanul cu Tei - 1883), - The Beer Wagon restaurant (Carul cu Bere - 1899), - The National Museum of History (the former Palace of the Post) built at the end of the nineteenth century Lipscani is one of the streets in Bucharest that has quite a lot of assets belonging to the List of monuments of historical importance (over 30), reunited under the title the "Lipscani Street" architecture ensemble (between Lipscani, Calea Victoriei and Jacques Elias Street). These words are significant for understanding the complex profile of this street: artisans, tradesmen and even bankers operated there, at one point. Most of the assets in this list are the many shops, built at the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, which was a period of intensive economic development of Romania. Their styles are common for their times, i.e. Dacia Palace Historical Study, 18-22 Lipscani St. Page 4 of 30 neoclassic and neo-baroque" The Lipscani street is not only in the middle of Bucharest, but also in the middle of the country, since it was from there that all trade routes to the counties of the Walachia started, as well as those going to the East and to the West of Europe. As of the first centuries of life of the town, the "lane" that would later become Lipscani Street, was one of the most important routes of the city. Even before the generally acknowledged date when Bucharest was officially founded (in fact, when it was officially mentioned for the first time, this area was in the heart of the city. It is not by chance that it was called the "Large Lane", starting from the Higher Gate of the Prince’s Court and going to Târgoviștei Road. The first documentary mention of the street dates from 1589. At the time, there were numerous workshops and shops, with various profiles (hat makers, jewelers, fur makers or shoemakers), as well as several inns. The area was populated by Romanian, Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian, Jewish, Albanian and Austrian merchants, which gave the place a truly international profile. During the 17th century, this lane extended a lot, starting from the center, around the Saint Gheorghe Nou Church (the "Inner Fair"). After Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu decided to build the "Mogoșoaiei Bridge" (Victoriei Avenue), the other end of the street reached it. This made the Lipscani street even more important. But the first official mention of the Lipscani street was made in a document dated 1750, having taken its name from the linen brought from Leipzig, Germany. In fact, at first, this trade was made only by Saxons from Transylvania, and the supply centers were Danzig, Breslau, Flanders and Venice. George Potra, one of Bucharest's most famous historians, rightly considered that the merchants of Lipscani Street contributed to the modernization and westernization of the country. Lipscani was the only area of the city which did not have residential areas, but, in older times, shops (stalls, as they were called at the time), inns, workshops and institutions. As seen in the documents and illustrations of the time, most shops sold fabrics and linen, other "accessories", being grouped by type, (from weavers to jewelers). The shops in Lipscani were small, always having a display window towards the street. In fact, the façade was often narrow. These were rather solid buildings with brick vaults and cellars, as found while digging. Unfortunately, those who dug there often led to the disappearance of these vestiges. Most of the time, the family of the merchant also lived there. Later on, these stores expanded and became more diverse, as numerous witnesses, even from abroad, referred to the existence of luxury shops, which, given their size and Dacia Palace Historical Study, 18-22 Lipscani St. Page 5 of 30 appearance, could have been compared, for example, to Viennese shops.