Report
The Transylvania Trust Foundation has been organising built heritage conservation camps for over 20 years now, and this year was no exception, with two camps held at Bánffy Castle, Bonțida, Cluj County, between 31 July and 13 August 2022.
The main objective of the programmes held at the Castle, a historical monument under restoration, is to provide theoretical and practical training in traditional building crafts (masonry, decorative plastering, joinery, furniture restoration) for students of architecture, civil engineering, art history, archaeology, etc., as well as for skilled workers already active in the construction field. This year, 20 architect, engineer and art historian students, as well as construction workers from Romania, Hungary, France and Azerbaijan received theoretical and practical training.
In the Romanian higher education system, architecture students have very limited knowledge about heritage conservation, having currently, in most cases, only the possibility to study the theoretical foundations of historic building conservation as an optional subject, and the opportunities to acquire practical skills during their university years are extremely limited. Thus, participating in the restoration works at Bánffy Castle, Bonțida, has become an essential professional opportunity for these students. The objectives of the programme are: to train specialists in heritage conservation; to organise workshops; to organise theoretical courses with the participation of lecturers from Romanian and abroad; to provide practical training under the guidance of experienced craftsmen, which will be passed on by the participants at their own workplaces and institutions; to transfer knowledge and practical skills that can be used in traditional building crafts; to restore historic buildings as a result of the practical training.
The camps each lasted two weeks and included a combination of theoretical and practical training. In the masonry workshop, as well as the traditional joinery and furniture restoration workshop, participants were directly involved in the restoration of Bánffy Castle. Theoretical training was provided by specialists from Romania and abroad. The practical training was facilitated by Romanian master craftsmen.
In the masonry workshop, students participated in the consolidation and rendering of the main building’s north wall and the kitchen block’s tower, learned wall decoration techniques (decorative plaster, fresco, stucco marmorino, sgraffitto) while in the traditional joinery and furniture restoration workshop, they restored a period cupboard and helped to manufacture the castle window casings.
Most importantly, the participants gained useful knowledge and at the same time the restoration of Bánffy Castle progressed.
Quantifiable results: 1 training programme, 20 participants, 2 practical workshops, 6 theoretical lectures delivered by 5 lecturers, 3 master craftsmen present during the workshops.
Project supported by the Romanian Order of Architects, from the architectural stamp duty, and by The King’s Foundation, the National Cultural Fund of Hungary (NKA) and the Communitas Foundation.
