VICTORIEI SQUARE COMPETITION, TIMISOARA, ROMANIA

The site of this competition – Victory Square – was the subject of a series of projects at the beginning of the 20th century that imagined this place in different ways. One of them proposes the continuation of the regular layout specific to the Citadel area, others propose a square overlapping the current one, differently configured both in terms of landscaping and the current built environment.
Situated at the border between the old protected territory of the Citadel and the open area towards the historical districts of Timisoara, this space will be defined in different stages and has never really been a typical market space, seen as a gathering space. Having an elongated shape, flattering the palace buildings of the early 20th century, the current square space was composed of a collection of special places, located between the old Theatre building (now the Palace of Culture) to the north and the Orthodox Cathedral building to the south.
The decisive moment of the crystallization of the space of the Victory Square in Timisoara is constituted, from a symbolic point of view, by the demolition of the Petrovaradin Gate, one of the three important gates that facilitated the passage to the inside of the Citadel of Timisoara. For a while, even after the demolition of the gate, the walls of the fortress still remained standing, delimiting the passage inwards, towards the city – defining this transitional character.
Long time crossed by traffic arteries and electric tram lines, it is still perceived as a pedestrian thoroughfare rather than a square. The events it hosts briefly make it a social meeting place – the events of the 1989 Revolution being one of the most eloquent.
We propose to intervene discreetly with small gestures in its linear order, preserving its character and rather identifying the particular places that already define it: the event space in front of the old theatre, the meeting space of the fish fountain, the memorial space of the royal statues and the ritual space in front of the Orthodox Cathedral.
The square already has these places, the project is just trying to reveal them.

The project is an invitation to look at the space of this market differently. Next to this level of daily activities and visible events taking place on the pavement surface, we can perceive several other successive levels, equally important.
Above them are a series of spaces, perhaps less perceived at first glance – the balcony spaces overlooking the square. The balcony of the Opera building is perhaps the best known example, being the representative space from which Timisoara was declared the first free city of the Romanian Revolution in 1989. But this balcony is not the only one. From the very beginning, the space of the square was defined by tall buildings, opened by generous balconies to the outside. The square has always been perceived from above, and the images of it from above describe it from the beginning and make it known. The future project must also take into account this important perceptual level.
More importantly, in front of the Theatre building, below the square level, there is another series of hidden testimonies: the buried traces of the old Citadel wall, together with the underground space of the passage built for the underpass in the 1970s. This space is worth preserving, so we propose measures to consolidate and clean up the existing structure. In the first phase it will host the technical spaces for the market activities, the rainwater collection basin that will be used for the irrigation of the green spaces and the networks necessary for the organization of events.
We define this hidden level as a “waiting space”, a potential space that can come out of hiding at the right time and play a role in a future stage. In our proposal the two proposed memorial gardens will form a memorial trail of the first moments of the Revolution in connection with the future nearby Museum of the Revolution.

The square is remembered by the inhabitants as CORSO. In fact, in the past Corso was called only one side of the square, the “noble” side, where the rich were allowed to pass, in relation to the opposite side – SUROGAT – the area of the common people and young people. Between the two is positioned the green space that occupies the central area of the current square. Having different configurations over the years, this central garden has always been present as a linear element that runs across the square between the two important landmarks at the two ends – the Opera (the Palace of Culture which houses the Opera, the National Theatre, the Hungarian Theatre and the German Theatre) to the north and the Orthodox Cathedral to the south. All these linear elements, the streets that cross its entire length, its particularly elongated shape make it be perceived, even after it became a pedestrian space, as a dynamic space, a connecting space.

One of the things found in public buildings in Timisoara is the open entrance at ground level. If everywhere else the really important buildings have monumental staircases, visible access devices, here the entrance seems to invite anyone to enter, whether we are talking about the Palace of Culture, the building housing the City Hall, or the interwar palaces that define the front of Victory Square. Access is marked not by a difference in level but sometimes by a change in the material of the pavement, like a carpet that is laid in front of you and invites you in. It is possible that this feature resonates with the flatness of the landscape, but for whatever reason it is a feature present almost everywhere.
This motif of marking the access area will mark the important places in the limestone surface as a signal/motive to stop the linear route of the square.

AUTHOR: TOMA CLAUDIU
CO-AUTHOR: WENCZEL ATTILA
PROJECT TEAM: ARH. PALADE ROXANA, ARH. CIOSA CRISTINA, ARH. LUCA NATALIA, STUD. ARH. MIHUT ALEXANDRA, STUD.ARH. PIRVA ANDREEA, STUD.ARH. BOT DENISA, STUD.ARH. BORSAN TIMEA, STUD.ARH. MAXIM SILVIA, ING. PEISAGIST BANYOI SILVIA, ING. INST. EL. VALEA ADRIAN, ING.INST. FERNE DAN
RENDERINGS: ARH. PALADE ROXANA / PARASITE STUDIO
LOCATION: Timisoara