Graduation projects
THE REFUNCTIONALIZATION OF THE "SAINT WENDELIN" ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH FROM OFSENIȚA
Project description
This project represents an exploration of the potential and opportunity offered by the ruins of the Roman Catholic church in Ofsenița, Banloc commune, Timiș county. The aim of the project was to identify the general and specific characteristics of the site and the church in question, to develop a coherent re-functionalization strategy that has the local community in the main view, by implementing a multifunctional community center. The main studied object is one of the most „tested” churches in Banat, with a vast history that has known variable and contradictory behaviors, starting out from a noble edification by the Karátsonyi family in 1882, through vandalisation and desecration in 2008, surviving an earthquake in 1991 and a demolition plan issued in 2011… but the church was stubborn enough to withstand these „trials”. In the present, we can witness a constant and somewhat worrying silence in the village. We see abandoned houses, on the verge of collapse, even the proximity of the church. There was no one to care for the church anymore. In this sense, the opportunity presented by this theme is the challenge of developing a strategy that responds to the need to contribute to local and regional development. At the request of the owner, the conversion is to be carried out in a community cultural center that will provide space for cultural events such as symphonic concerts, exhibitions, conferences, lectures; however, in order to avoid the creation of a "lifeless fossil" or one with very rare activity, the theme must also provide an important social component for local development, improving the living conditions of disadvantaged groups. Starting from the local needs and the authentic characteristics of the site, the proposed solution appeals to the imagination of the human mind, to the past and the present, to the preservation of the testimonies of the past and to the preservation of an authentic identity. In this sense, the building of the church will accommodate the cultural space, maintaining its ruined "state", safe but exposed; Wishing for a function that would perpetuate the use of this complex, another adjacent function will be an after-school educational program for about 35 children from Ofsenița.
Author's presentation text
Varga Bettina-Evelin is a young architecture graduate who is interested in restoration and preservation of (material and immaterial) heritage. She is an active volunteer in projects aiming to conserve Romanian built heritage and cultural assets, projects concerning the safeguarding and recovery of urban and rural architectural patrimony. She believes in activities that bring people together, that mobilize both local communities and civil society to raise awareness of the importance of preserving the built heritage. In her practice, she focuses mostly on a theoretical approach – but never at the expense of providing a realistic and approachable point of view. When not studying or volunteering, she enjoys illustrating children’s books and painting with watercolors, traveling nationally and internationally, going on hikes and always planning for the next adventure.
