Architect Ion Giurgea. An architectural monography

Authors’ Comment

The new volume in the igloo patrimoniu series, „Architect Ion Giurgea. An Architectural Monograph”, by architect Mădălin Ghigeanu, recovers an essential contribution to Romanian interwar architecture and brings back to the attention of both the public and specialists a figure who has been unjustly forgotten.

Associated with the Mediterranean / Moorish-Florentine strand of Romanian architecture, Ion V. Giurgea designed a number of landmark buildings, including the Tătărescu villas, the Carol Gagel House, the Leonida building on Magheru Boulevard, and the Parhon Hospital, as well as interventions such as the Music Salon at the Romanian Athenaeum, the buildings of the Hellenic Community and the “V.A. Urechia” Society in Galați, and the National Theatre in Tecuci.

At the core of architect Mădălin Ghigeanu’s research is Ion V. Giurgea’s personal archive, preserved almost in its entirety in his Bucharest villa. This remarkable collection of more than 4,000 drawings, photographs, and notes has been brought together here for the first time in an extensive and coherent form. The material offers not only a detailed perspective on Giurgea’s work, but also a valuable resource for heritage research and restoration practice.

Produced to exceptional graphic standards, the 240-page volume includes more than 200 illustrations – sketches, plans, details, and archival photographs – complemented by a critical study that situates Giurgea’s work within the broader context of interwar architecture and the Mediterranean picturesque tradition. Foreword by Professor Emeritus Dr. Arch. Sorin Vasilescu.