\nPhotos: Vlad Pătru<\/strong><\/p>\n
Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n Restoration is a difficult subject. First of all, the very term makes one think of historical monuments, protected areas, churches, fortresses, and other “untouchable” architectural objects. Both architects and owners often avoid them. However, we live in a world increasingly oriented towards the reuse of built structures as a resource in the fight against climate change and waste, raising questions about best practices when intervening on a site with a strong heritage.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n One such site is the ensemble of the fortified Evangelical church in Curciu, Sibiu County, Romania. This county is already known as a hub of cultural centres in the Saxon area, places we’ve written about in At Work At Home<\/em> book and in the magazine. Here lies one of the largest communities of city dwellers who have moved to the countryside, surrounded by a sea of houses abandoned during the Saxon migration in the 1990s, leaving behind a vast heritage of buildings and life stories, communities struggling to survive today. Their proximity holds promise.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In Curciu, as in most Saxon villages, the figure of the “key holder” appears, embodied in Mrs Dana, a teacher in the commune. The responsibility for the entire ensemble falls to her in the absence of the Saxon community, which only returns to the village once a year. The church in Curciu was chosen from three possible intervention sites, and one of the main factors was the willingness to continue caring for the place after the architects’ intervention.<\/p>\n Restoration is Architecture<\/strong><\/p>\n I was curious to find out how such a project comes about. It’s the kind of studio project that would barely get a seven (out of ten) because it lacks enough architecture. And yet, it seems that from now on, projects of this kind will become more and more common and sought after.<\/p>\n Since the village has no guesthouse, the Saxons no longer have anywhere to stay when they return, and tourists cannot find accommodation nearby, the Fortified Churches Foundation commissioned Modul 28 to create some accommodation spaces in the tower, chapel, and bell-ringer’s house, with the dual purpose of working with a team specialised in interventions on historical sites and launching a new, young team through a rare project in Romania.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Modul 28 intervenes on the space with the weight and conviction of architects who understand design beyond new construction. The ensemble of a fortified church in a depopulated Saxon village is as complex a design opportunity as urban planning: parametric studies, understanding the space, valorising Gothic forms, and architectural decisions that must balance the budget with the purpose of the space. Here, a valuable fresco was discovered, dating from before the Lutheran Reformation, which brings a reasonable number of tourists every month.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Above all, the design team sought to understand what the English model of champing (short for church camping), where you can rent a room or a bed for a more or less affordable price, might mean for the Curciu ensemble. However, for the Romanian diocese, the concept is still distant, so the spaces the architects intervened on are part of the fortification wall, not inside the church itself.<\/p>\n The Chapel<\/strong><\/p>\n The architects emphasise the delicacy with which a professional must approach such a spectacular space, which they did not alter at all.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"09_A_Modul](\"https:\/\/e-zeppelin.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/09_A_Modul-28-Biserica-Curciu_Vlad-Patru-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>*Situation plan<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n