DOI: 10.5277/arc120112

Wojciech Januszewski *

Between Europe and the East – draft on architectural landscape of

Introduction

Bucharest – the capital city and the most important scape created by it. Its beauty defies conventional center of industry and services in – is in many aesthetic criteria, creating a special genius loci . This respects an exceptional city compared to other Central paper presents an outline description of this extraordi- European metropolises. One of the most interesting nary landscape and the factors which affected its devel- aspects of Bucharest is its architecture and the land- opment.

“Savage hotchpotch”

This is how Ferdinand Lassale – the 19 th century a myriad of directions which formed under the influ- socialist activist – described Bucharest and its social ence of Western European ideas. On the other hand, the inequities in his writings from Romania. This comment picturesque disorder of Bucharest and the magnificence seems correct also in regards to the spatial plan of the capital city. What distinguishes that city is the excep- tional diversity of its architectural elements. Bucharest’s architecture is a melting pot of contrasts of scale, shapes, style and function (Fig. 1). The city’s architec- tural forms are grandiose. The local characteristic fea- tures are spectacular and they include eccentric forms and abundance of details. The architects of Bucharest always wanted to create something exceptional. The most daring attempts were not only typical of eminent masters, but a standard of architectural designs. [...] Bucharest drew without any qualms from all sources and adopted all patterns only to astonish and show diversity – wrote the Romanian architect, Marian Celac [1, p. 14]. The origin of this special surrealism lies in the spe- cific Romanian culture developed as a result of mixture of the motifs of the East and the West over the centuries. Bucharest’s urban plan and architecture demonstrate Fig. 1. Neo-Romanian style, modernism and eclecticism in architecture RI3LDĠD5RPăQD SKRWR:-DQXV]HZVNL * Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning, Kielce University of ,O6W\OQHRUXPXĔVNLPRGHUQL]PLHNOHNW\]PZ]DEXGRZLH3LDĠD Technology. 5RPăQD IRW:-DQXV]HZVNL 118 :RMFLHFK-DQXV]HZVNL

of architectural forms resemble the spirit of the Levantine cities (Fig. 2). The specific natural features of the city also affect its special landscape. An increased seismic activity of that area results in a faster technical degradation of the city structures. The which were damaged, or the ones which did not meet the growing needs, were replaced with bigger or more imposing ones – erected in line with currently fashion- able stylistic conventions. Despite the complexity of the architectural land- VFDSHRIWKHFLW\LWLVSRVVLEOHWRDQDO\]HDQGV\V - WHPDWL]HLW,QWKHVHHPLQJO\FKDRWLFDUFKLWHFWXUH RI the city, there can be distinguished a few main “lay- HUV´ VXFK DV LQGLJHQRXV VW\OH DUFKLWHFWXUH RI WKH ³/LWWOH3DULV´PRGHUQLVPDQGVRFLDOLVWUHDOLVP7KLV division is rather stylistic than chronological in its )LJ'LYHUVL¿HGDUFKLWHFWXUHRI%XFKDUHVW FHQWHU SKRWR:-DQXV]HZVNL character because these layers often overlapped and mixed in time, creating hybrid forms or they reap- ,O=UyĪQLFRZDQD]DEXGRZDĞUyGPLHĞFLD%XNDUHV]WX IRW:-DQXV]HZVNL SHDUHGDV³QHRVW\OHV´

Indigenous style

The original is an account of Ottoman Empire. The first mention of Bucharest dates the complex historical process which shaped the culture back from that time (1459). Until the middle of the 19 th of Romania. FHQWXU\WKHFLW\ZDVWKHFDSLWDORI:DOODFKLDDQGWKHVHDW In this respect 106 AD is an important turning point of hospodars ( local rulers ) [2]. when the area of Romania, inhabited at that time by Indo- The peak development of the Romanian national style (XURSHDQWULEHV7KUDFLDQE\RULJLQ±*HWDHDQG'DFLDQV is associated with the reign of Constantin Brâncoveanu – was conquered by Emperor Trajan. Consequently, (1654–1714) who became famous as an excellent politi- 5RPDQLD ZDV LQFRUSRUDWHG LQWR WKH :HVWHUQ FXOWXUH ,Q cal leader and patron of the arts. Consequently, that style around the 9 th century, after the period of the Barbarian is often termed the Brâncovenesc style. A number of Invasions, the lands by the became part of the buildings in the Brâncovenesc style have been preserved Bulgarian state and the Thraco-Roman people inhabiting in their original form – especially orthodox churches and that area were converted to Eastern Christianity and sub- monasteries from the 17 th –18th century scattered over the MHFWHGWRWKHLQIOXHQFHRIWKH%\]DQWLQHFXOWXUH area of the center of Bucharest (Fig. 3). In the 14 th century, two independent Romanian princi- At the beginning of the 20 th century, after a period of SDOLWLHV ZHUH IRXQGHG 0ROGDYLD DQG :DOODFKLD ,Q WKH XQFULWLFDO IDVFLQDWLRQ ZLWK WKH :HVWHUQ (XURSHDQ SDWWHUQV 15 th century, after the fall of , they fought these buildings inspired the architects who wished to express DJDLQVW7XUNVEXWORVWDQGDFFHSWHGWKHVX]HUDLQW\RIWKH the national ideas (Fig. 4). One of the most prominent repre-

)LJ.UHW]XOHVFX2UWKRGR[&KXUFK ± LQWKH5HYROXWLRQ Fig. 4. Town Hall in Bucharest (1906–1910) designed in the Neo- 6TXDUH SKRWR:-DQXV]HZVNL Romanian style by Petre Antonescu (photo: :-DQXV]HZVNL ) ,O&HUNLHZ.UHW]XOHVFX ± QDSODFX5HZROXFML ,O5DWXV]Z%XNDUHV]FLH ± ]DSURMHNWRZDQ\ZVW\OX (fot. :-DQXV]HZVNL ) QHRUXPXĔVNLPSU]H]DUFK3HWUH$QWRQHVFX IRW:-DQXV]HZVNL )  %HWZHHQ(XURSHDQGWKH(DVW±GUDIWRQDUFKLWHFWXUDOODQGVFDSHRI%XFKDUHVW 119 sentatives of that group was Ion Mincu (1852–1912) who first designed a series of public buildings, townhouses and other Neo-Romanian houses. The Brâncovenesc style and its Neo-Romanian interpre- tation use artistic motifs of various origin. That architecture features the Renaissance harmony of elements, rhythmic articulation and frequent repetition of arcaded loggias and SRUWLFRV7KH%\]DQWLQHPRWLIVDUHYLVLEOHLQWKHIRUPVRI full arches, short columns – sometimes with spiral twisted shafts – and abundant floral decorations of archivolts and IULH]HV6RPH,VODPLFPRWLIVVXFKDV0RRULVKDUFKHVDQG stone ornamented openwork in balustrades are also used. The style’s characteristic feature adopted from the Medieval 5RPDQLDQDUFKLWHFWXUHLVLWV³GHIHQVLYHQHVV´DVWDEOHPDLQ body of the , strengthened base course and the pres- ence of oriels and towers. However, the most characteristic element is the steep roof with overhanging eaves [5]. The indigenous style has numerous variations which Fig. 5. In the foreground, Neo-Romanian city house; in the back- vary depending on the moment of origin and the archi- ground, modern building with details inspired by indigenous style tect’s ingenuity. Apart from academic examples of the SKRWR:-DQXV]HZVNL Neo-Romanian school, the indigenous elements were ,O1DSLHUZV]\PSODQLHGRPPLHMVNLZVW\OXQHRUXPXĔVNLPZJáĊEL introduced selectively into eclectic architecture and even EXG\QHNPRGHUQLVW\F]Q\]GHWDOHPLQVSLURZDQ\PVW\OHPURG]LP\P modern designs from the 1930s (Fig. 5). (fot. :-DQXV]HZVNL )

Architecture of the “Little Paris”

The turning point in the growth of the city was the incor- Consequently, it is not surprising that the expansion of SRUDWLRQRI:DOORFKLDZLWK0ROGRYDLQDQGWKHQWKH %XFKDUHVWWULJJHUHGE\WKHQHFHVVDU\PRGHUQL]DWLRQRIWKH emergence of the in 1881 with its capital city, followed the then popular French patterns. capital in Bucharest. Romania broke free from the political 6SHFLILFDOO\ WKH SODQV PDGH E\ *HRUJHV +DXVVPDQQ IRU influence of Turkey. The second half of the 19 th century Paris were applied. The design included broad avenues ZDVWKHSHULRGZKHQ5RPDQLDZLGHO\RSHQHGWR:HVWHUQ JRLQJQRUWKVRXWK 1%DOFHVFXDQG&%UăWLDQXERXOHYDUG  Europe. This is when the European patterns were adopted and east-west (Regina Elisabeta and Carol I boulevard) LQPDQ\DVSHFWVRIOLIH7KHUHODWLQL]DWLRQRIWKHODQJXDJH FURVVLQJDWWKH³JUDQGLQWHUVHFWLRQ´ JUDQGHFURLVHH DWWKH consisting in replacing the words with Slavic, Hungarian, 8QLYHUVLW\6TXDUH 3LDĠD8QLYHUVLWăĠLL >@ )LJ  and Turkish origin with the words borrowed directly from Over the last two decades of the 19 th century, Italian or French, was symbolically significant and it was a number of representative buildings of public utility and supported by the authorities [2]. government administration were erected in the area of the

)LJ(FOHFWLFDUFKLWHFWXUHRI3LDĠD8QLYHUVLWăĠLL Fig. 7. City house with rich decorations from the period of the “Little SKRWR:-DQXV]HZVNL 3DULV´ SKRWR:-DQXV]HZVNL ,O(NOHNW\F]QD]DEXGRZD3LDĠD8QLYHUVLWăĠLL ,O'RPPLHMVNLRERJDWHMGHNRUDFML]RNUHVXÄPDáHJR3DU\ĪD´ (fot. :-DQXV]HZVNL ) (fot. :-DQXV]HZVNL ) 120 Wojciech Januszewski new center. They were designed by Romanian architects neo-classicism, eclecticism, and French neo-renaissance educated in Ècole des Beaux Arts in Paris and often by as well as around 1900. French designers themselves. The expansion of the city, which was carried out on The buildings from that period are monumental and a grand scale, followed the idea of transforming Bucharest they feature sophisticated details as well as impeccable into “Little Paris.” The fashion for imported architecture workmanship. The style of the new buildings was cosmo- affected not only huge public investments but also indi- politan and generally followed the trends popular then in vidual buildings such as of aristocracy and rich . The dominant conventions included bourgeoisie, townhouses and city houses [6] (Fig. 7).

Modernism

The next stage of the city’s rapid growth was the period cultural life at that time. Its advocates gathered around between the wars when Bucharest was the capital of so called Contimporanul – a magazine published between 1924 and Great Romania which significantly expanded to include new 1934. It was a forum for the young generation of designers territories. A new literary and art movement inspired by the who adopted the ideas of architecture of the Bauhaus, Le ideas of European avant-garde played an important role in the Corbusier or de Stijl. Hundreds of new buildings in the

Fig. 8. of Bulevardul Magheru – ARO Fig. 9. Coexistence of modernism and eclecticism building from 1929 – designed by Horia Creanga (photo: W. Januszewski) (photo: W. Januszewski) ,O:VSyáLVWQLHQLHPRGHUQL]PXLHNOHNW\]PX Il. 8. Modernistyczna zabudowa Bulevardul Magheru – budynek (fot. W. Januszewski) towarzystwa ubezpieczeniowego z 1929 r. – arch. Horia Creanga (fot. W. Januszewski)

Fig. 10. Examples of modern houses in Bucharest Fig. 11. Modern body of the building and historicizing detail (photo: W. Januszewski) (photo: W. Januszewski) ,O3U]\NáDG\PRGHUQLVW\F]Q\FKGRPyZZ%XNDUHV]FLH ,O0RGHUQLVW\F]QDEU\áDLKLVWRU\]XMąF\GHWDO (fot. W. Januszewski) (fot. W. Januszewski)  %HWZHHQ(XURSHDQGWKH(DVW±GUDIWRQDUFKLWHFWXUDOODQGVFDSHRI%XFKDUHVW 121

International style, including monument office buildings, resi- Architects freely and skillfully used all resources of mod- dential buildings and houses, were designed in Bucharest ern formal means. New architecture used asymmetrical especially in the middle of the 1930s, when, after the great FRPSRVLWLRQ KRUL]RQWDO UK\WKPV EDQG DQG URXQG ZLQ - crisis, the building investments became the best means to save dows, loggias and balconies, brise-soleil, ship balus- the capital [4] (Fig. 8, 9). trades, rounded corners resembling the designs by Erich Despite the fact that the Romanian modernism was an Mendelsohn, etc. The minimalist solutions were not imported idea, the avant-garde architecture of Bucharest is popular – on the contrary – the buildings were composed extraordinary on the European scale and its modern designs of many sections and they had a lot of details (cornices, are remarkable. It is surprising how easily the interwar soci- frames, etc.) [3]. ety adopted the completely new style of architecture. On the This way modernism of the capital city falls in line other hand, the activities of the state in respect of social hous- with the long tradition of extravert and decorative ing – so typical of modern ideas – were insufficient. The new architecture of Bucharest. Frequently, this continuity style was mainly applied in private building. Modernism was can be perceived literally when the functional archi- perceived separately from its original, social principles and WHFWXUH LQFOXGHV SRLQWHG DUFKHV %\]DQWLQH FROXPQV consequently it was only a kind of fashionable modern cos- or pseudo-Moorish bars as well as warm colors. tume (Fig. 10, 11). These surprising deviations from stylistic purity tes- That is why the specific features of Bucharest avant- tify best to the uniqueness of the Romanian avant- garde focus on the external form of the buildings. garde (Fig. 11).

New Socialist City

The modern movement ended with the outbreak of the 7KH³$YHQXHRI9LFWRU\RI6RFLDOLVP´LVDILYHNLORP - 6HFRQG :RUOG :DU ZKLFK UHVXOWHG LQ WKH VXEVWDQWLDO HWHUORQJ D[LV D IHZ GR]HQ PHWHUV ORQJHU ± ZKLFK ZDV destruction of the city. After 1947, Romania became a source of its builders’ pride – than the Avenue des a Socialist Republic. New authorities considered avant- Champs-Élysées in Paris. A number of government and garde bourgeois formalism and it was doomed to artistic apartment buildings were designed with rows of trees and void. Instead, there was a return of the spirit of neo-clas- tens of fountains along the sides of the Avenue. The sicism. It did return but in a distorted form. monumental Unirii Square with commodity warehouses This is when socialist realism began, which was also was located in the area where the Avenue crosses the known in other countries of so called . The existing south-north axis. temporary turn towards so called socialist modernism in The schematic and monumental architecture of these the 1960s–1970s did not stop an urban catastrophe. The buildings is a combination of socialist realism, a sort of huge earthquake in 1977, which did a lot of damage in the Ricardo Bofill’s European post-modernism and the style historic fabric of Bucharest, became a pretext for party of official building in , with which the dicta- GHFLVLRQPDNHUVOHGE\1LFRODH&HDXúHVFXWRLPSOHPHQW tor maintained close relations (Fig. 13). the plans to remodel the capital city and turn it into a propaganda flagship of socialist Romania. In 1980, the FOHDQLQJRIWKHDUHDIRUWKH³QHZVRFLDOLVWFLW\´ZKLFKZDV planned on the south side of the existing city center by the 'kPERYLĠD5LYHULQWKHDUHDRIWKHROGHVWPHGLHYDOSDUW of Bucharest began. In order to execute that undertaking the area of about 7 km 2 of the city, that is about 1/3 of the area of the city center, was leveled. About 40 000 resi- dents were relocated. The old street network, the hum- PRFN\ODQGVFDSHDGR]HQRUVRRIRUWKRGR[FKXUFKHVDQG monasteries as well as numerous other valuable, historic buildings were completely destroyed [1]. The plan of the new design was based on extremely sim- plified layout. It had two main elements: the “People’s +RXVH´DQGWKH³$YHQXHRI9LFWRU\RI6RFLDOLVP´ )LJ  The construction of the People’s House – one of the big- gest buildings in the world, which was built in the years 1984–1989 according to the plans prepared by a team of a few hundred architects – required a lot of effort. The com- Fig. 12. The of the Parliament (former People’s House) at the SOH[ZKLFKZDVEXLOWUHPLQGHGWKH%DE\ORQLDQ]LNNXUDWLQLWV FORVLQJRIWKHYLHZLQJD[LV SKRWR:-DQXV]HZVNL SURSRUWLRQVDQG9HUVDLOOHVLQLWVDUFKLWHFWXUH7KHVFDOHDQG ,O%U\áD3DáDFX3DUODPHQWX GDZQLHM'RPX/XGRZHJR QD grandeur of the structure defies all classification. ]DPNQLĊFLXRVL IRW:-DQXV]HZVNL ) 122 :RMFLHFK-DQXV]HZVNL

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&HDXúHVFX¶VDFWLYLWLHVUHVXOWHGLQLUUHYHUVLEOHFKDQJ - es in the face of Bucharest. The diverse historic land- scape of the city was replaced with a monotonous and RYHUVL]HG XUEDQ GHVLJQ 7KH RQO\ UHPDLQV RI WKH destroyed district are its historic orthodox churches Fig. 14. Historic Orthodox Church hidden among socialist architecture and monasteries which for ideological reasons were DURXQG3LDWD8QLULL SKRWR:-DQXV]HZVNL blocked by new buildings or hidden inside the quarters ,O=DE\WNRZDFHUNLHZXNU\WDZĞUyGVRFMDOLVW\F]QHM]DEXGRZ\ (Fig. 14). w okolicy Piata Uniri (fot. :-DQXV]HZVNL )

The present

In December 1989, Bucharest became an arena of 7KHEXLOGLQJVIURP&HDXúHVFX¶VWLPHKDYHUHPDLQHGXVH - EORRG\FODVKHVDVDUHVXOWRIZKLFKWKH1LFRODH&HDXúHVFX¶V less and unfinished in Bucharest until today. dictatorship was overthrown. The revolution stopped the Romania adopted the market economy. The People’s building program of the regime in its prime. The con- House – currently the – became struction of the People’s House was not fully completed. tourist attraction and former commodity warehouses were

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converted into shopping centers. The huge walls of the ket today – just like socialism in the past – causes the IRUPHU ³VRFLDOLVW FLW\´ DUH FRYHUHG WRGD\ ZLWK PRWOH\ degradation of historic sites and devastation of the cul- advertising banners. tural landscape of Bucharest. Today’s Bucharest suffers from a lot of problems con- Contrasts have always been the defining elements of nected with the maintenance of its heritage. Its existing Bucharest’s urban landscape and its unique character. urban fabric, which demonstrates high architectural However, diversity does not mean complete lack of any value, often deteriorates because of neglect of conserva- principles. The architecture of the capital city of Romania tion work or intentional devastation. had impassable limits – the limits of human scale – and The city lacks an effective space planning policy. The because of those limits the streets and squares of old face of the capital city is heavily affected by powerful Bucharest offer true public spaces. However, since the investors who force construction of more and more high- second half of the 20 th century, this natural border has rise buildings, usually with no regard to their surround- EHHQEUHDFKHGPRUHDQGPRUHRIWHQ*ODVVVN\VFUDSHUV ings. Public opinion was on many occasions appalled at just like socialist boulevards, are the most evident exam- suggested locations of commercial architecture. In 2008, ples of that violation. New architecture also breaks the street protests were held during the debate on the shape of limits of schematism beyond which form becomes cliché. one of the most symbolic places in Bucharest – Revolution The architecture of glass boxes whose presence in Square in the vicinity of the Royal Palace. The construc- Bucharest has become universal today does not match the tion of skyscrapers right next to such temples as the artistic value of the interwar modernism. Maybe the con- Catholic Cathedral or by the historic Armenian Church temporary builders of Bucharest should learn more from caused huge scandals (Fig. 15). Paradoxically, free mar- their great predecessors.

Translated by 7DGHXV]6]DáDPDFKD

References

[1] Celac M., Carabela O., Marcu-Lapadat M., %XFKDUHVW±DUFKLWHFWXUH >@2JLĔVNL 7 +LODULRSROLV 6FKD\HU L LQQL , August 18, 2008 [accessed: and modernity , Simetria, Bucuresti 2005, p. 14. December 12, 2010], http://schayer.blox.pl/2008/08/Hilaropolis.html. [2] Demel J., +LVWRULD5XPXQLL =DNáDG1DURGRZ\LP2VVROLĔVNLFK± [5] Stanculescu F., $UKLWHFWXUD3RSXODUD5RPLQHDVVD5HJLXQHD%XFXUHVWL, :\GDZQLFWZR:URFáDZSS± Editura Tehnica, Bucuresti 1958, pp. 3–50. [3] Machedon L., Scoffham E., 5RPDQLDQPRGHUQLVP7KHDUFKLWHFWXUH [6] Tudor O., ,QWHUEHOOXP%XFKDUHVW9LFWRULD$YHQXH , Noi Media Print, of Bucharest 1920 –, MIT Press, Cambridge 1999, pp. 10–31. Buchuresti 2009, pp. 2–15.

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Key words: Bucharest, urban space, modernism 6áRZDNOXF]RZH %XNDUHV]WSU]HVWU]HĔPLHMVNDPRGHUQL]P Drawn by Mateusz Olczyk