Arhitectură, arheologie și identitate

Abstract

The present study tries to set a holistic point of view as a response to a set of phenomena happening nowadays in Romania, generated by the massive migration from rural areas to cities and towns which leads to a sad, slow dilution of the vernacular, of its authenticity. All of this is heading towards identity loss and cultural disorientation. On the other hand, architecture has always been a mirror which reflects trends and mentalities, but it can also become a tool of interdisciplinary thinking for integrated strategies which could save the cultural heritage hidden in the rural areas. Learning means having one eye looking toward future and the other turning towards history, identifying opportunities and trying to avoid mistakes by understanding and explaining the past. Today’s cities and towns once were mere villages; archaeological artifacts of today are just architecture in transformation. So how can these separate facts and conclusions come together in a logical statement and, ideally, a coherent strategy to enhance the value of deserted rural areas in Romania and to make them functional and sustainable?
The paper has two main sections: firstly, a few theoretical guidelines are set; secondly, a case study is presented, in order to illustrate a possible approach to complexly analyzing of a given site, in order to identify the real prerequisites for an efficient strategy for its revival. Finally, there are no conclusions, only pseudo-conclusions, because the goal is not to give recipes, but to raise questions and, perhaps, to call for a vision whose starting point are the immense existing values of the forgotten places.