Johann Michael Haydn Music Institute

Authors’ Comment

Education has always been the ground base of cultural and social evolution. In particular, art education was and still is an important variable to the direction in which cultural development curves in actual context. Despite the fact that artistic education had a greater impact on social context in the past, it is still present nowadays. Johann Michael Haydn Music Institute is a project that targets to revitalize traditions in terms of music in the city of Oradea. Even though this tradition whose foundations were created by prestigious musicians all around Europe, such as Johann Michael Haydn or Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf, has seen a great decrease in popularity this past period, the current social, economic and touristic development of this city enhances the value proposition of this project. The current situation of musical education allows for the emergence of a new institute, moreover in the western area of Romania where teenagers who choose to approach a career in this domain are required to study in higher education specialization abroad, due to the lack of music universities in this area. The close bound that my project has with other cultural and educational institutions around the city is argued by its position: close to the Oradea’s Philharmonic, Regina Maria National Theatre and Mihai Eminescu National College. Due to its position among these, the project creates spatial coherence, empowering the urban point of cultural influence. Furthermore, the shortage of performance scenes in the city represents a real problem. The proposed concert hall within the Music Institute aims to solve this problem and bring value both locally at the institutional level and to the city. The particularity of this site is given by its position: right at the junction of two urban layers, one historical (in which most of the above mentioned institutions are located, having a powerful public character) and a modern one (whose main functionality is habitance). From this point of view, the project claims the role of a fine merger between the two layers, aiming to create a coherent and smooth image of the urban area. It borrows architectural particularities from both layers, enlarging the possibilities and creating a continuity among the two. The architectural statement is highly influenced by two aspects: the above mentioned urban aspect and the functionality of the building. Architecture and music fuse into a recursive subject which has been seen before under different forms during past historic periods. The musical inspiration is easily recognized on the facade of the university building with connections between architectural expressiveness and elements specific to music theory such as music sheets. In conclusion, Johann Michael Haydn Music Institute aims to revive local customs and traditions in Oradea, while also bringing a cultural and educational development potential to the city.