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Govora Heritage Lab
  • Special Mention

Govora Heritage Lab

Authors: arh. Radu Tîrcă, arh. Ștefania Hîrleață, ist. art. Irina Leca

Collaborators:
arh. Petru Mortu
arh. Anamaria Mortu
arh. Eugen Pănescu
arh. Ilinca Păun Constantinescu
Fundația Comunitară Vâlcea
Asociația Zâmbete Colorate
Atelier RIDA
Amural
Mazzocchioo
Credite fotografii: Andrei Mărgulescu, Marius Vasile, Irina Leca, Cristian Bădescu

Authors’ Comment

Baile Govora is a resort with a strong identity, which preserves the Spa Park and many historical buildings relevant to its historical evolution. However, the existing heritage is overwhelmingly unused and degraded, affecting the urban image and the community's perception of its cultural heritage. The topic of heritage has been chosen for a series of experimental projects aiming to identify paths for urban, social and economic revitalisation through the restoration and enhancement of historic heritage.

Within the Govora Heritage Lab, Studiogovora, an interdisciplinary team of architects, art historians, urban planners, artists, writers, economists, students and volunteers, developed a series of activities grouped under three major themes:
- research: historical studies, urban morphological analysis, architectural and urban planning studies, publications, workshops, round tables
- specific interventions and implementation of concepts resulting from the research findings: emergency conservation of the Ivanovici Villa (the only publicly owned historical monument) or the restoration of the Interwar Gazebo, the only structure of its kind still preserved today
- voluntary actions and participatory involvement: events and activities that promote the thermal heritage and activate urban spaces: guided tours, concerts, art installations, exhibitions, film screenings, as well as support for owners of buildings of historical value and for the local administration.

The search for strategies and the implementation of the process to strengthen the awareness of the community regarding the values of spa heritage led to the development of actions involving the community, the authorities, the professional and academic sphere: - the Spa Architecture Days in Govora - 1st, 2nd and 3rd editions (2020-2022), the emergency conservation of the Ivanovici Villa, the restoration of the Interwar Gazebo, the project of the public restroom in the Central Park, or dedicated publications:
Mazzocchioo #5 - Govora: Premises of an ideal town (editorial staff - Poster team, guest editors - Studiogovora team) and the Best Practice Guide: Govora Baths - a tool for analysis and regulation to assist local authorities in supporting the sustainable development of the town.

The team also organises annual public meetings dedicated to specific topics related to practical projects:
- 2020 - analysis of the resort and research on strategies for intervention: Round Table: Băile Govora, Heritage as a Resource, the first interdisciplinary professional event dedicated to local heritage, which reunited for the first time local specialists, representatives of the local administration and representatives of the business environment to debate the topic of revitalising local heritage.
- 2021 - defining future interventions for Villa Ivanovici: Community debate on possible use scenarios
- 2022 - Outlining possible interventions to improve the quality of built heritage: community debate on the Best Practice Guide.

Govora Heritage Lab therefore aims to help local public institutions and the overall community by focusing on the value of heritage, its adaptive reuse, the enhancement of public space through cultural activities and the preservation of the cultural landscape.