Literature on Stage - Performing Arts Center, Library and Museum

Authors’ Comment

The project proposes transforming literature from an object of reading into an active cultural experience, following the process through which text becomes interpretation, representation and, ultimately, a collective experience. Architecture is conceived as the medium that supports this transformation through a sequence of spaces and functions dedicated to reading, study, interpretation, production and performance.

Located on Calea Victoriei, the project is structured around the relationship between the Public Library, the Performing Arts Center and Casa Vernescu, a listed historic building situated on the same site. The library establishes the first point of contact with text and knowledge, bringing together spaces for reading, study and public access to resources. Rehearsal and production spaces support the processes of interpretation and preparation, while the performance halls represent the moment when literature leaves the page and becomes a shared public experience.

Casa Vernescu is given a new function as a Museum of Literature, conceived as a continuation of its cultural and historical significance. The intervention seeks to preserve the character of the historic building while making use of its existing spatial qualities, without replacing its identity with a new architectural language. The museum therefore takes on both a memorial and educational role, activating literary heritage within a contemporary cultural context.

Adjacent to the historic building, the new Performing Arts Center and Public Library form a contemporary architectural intervention, clearly distinct from Casa Vernescu. Their relationship is not based on imitation, but on contrast, proportion, proximity and the continuity of public space. The new architecture opens towards the city through transparent spaces, porticos, courtyards and areas for gathering, establishing a series of relationships between interior, exterior and historic fabric.

The organization of the ensemble follows a continuous transition from text to experience: the library provides access to literature, production and rehearsal spaces enable its interpretation, while the performance halls transform it into a public event. The museum completes this sequence through the dimensions of memory and heritage.

The project therefore proposes a different approach to intervention within historic urban contexts. Heritage is not treated as an isolated object preserved outside the life of the city, but as a cultural resource capable of actively participating in the present. Casa Vernescu and the new intervention form a unified cultural ensemble in which literature can be read, studied, interpreted and experienced, establishing a continuous relationship between memory, architecture and public space.