The renovation of the Cultural Palace in Blaj started after 17 years of abandonment: the building built in 1930 brings its past closer while looking to the future. Here comes the latest episode of our PACE X HYPEANDHYPER series, starring the Cultural Palace in Blaj.
Bucharest-based architect Victor Smigelschi designed a venue for hosting cultural events in Blaj, Transylvania in 1930. The building underwent some major changes in the sixties, and it was severely damaged by a fire in 1995. Then the romantic ruins waited until 2012 to be renovated.
The plans for the renovation were made by architecture studio Vlad Sebastian Rusu. The redesign is centered around a flexible multipurpose hall, the particularity of which comes from the new roof-lights that invite more daylight into the building.
The architects wanted to access Victor Smigelschi’s original designs, but they found no record about the great hall’s design whatsoever. The brick cladding, the roof’s metal structure and the suspended ceiling all reflect on the past: they evoke the damage caused by the fire, which is a memory just as important as the initial glory of the palace.
In our series titled PACE X HYPEANDHYPER, we showcase a prominent contemporary public building from the Central Eastern European region each week.
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