Skip to content
2020 | Sântana, Arad County
Urbarial house – Sântana
Project summary

Beneficiary

The City of Sântana

Location

Sântana, Arad County

Start year

2020

Description

The Sântana town hall, known as the Urbarialhaus, is a historic monument building first dated to 1749. The property is listed under position 359 in the List of Historical Monuments: Code LMI Ar-II-mB-00647 Urbarialhaus (Townhouse) town of SÂNTANA Str. Muncii 62.
The architect of the works is ANDREAS POLLER, the dates of completion of the works being mentioned in the documents as 1767, the building was referred to as "Middle school for nobles and Urbarial House", and was probably built in two stages.
From 1772 onwards, the building was used for the upper courses of the middle school (grades IV and V of "Humaniora") then, in the XVIII-XIX centuries, the building was found in the documents of the time as Urbarial House, and it's stated purpose was that of a chancellery for conducting business. In 1791 and 1858, the local fires affected the building, as well as over a thousand houses in the town, the middle school, and the church.
In 1860, the building was rebuilt and put into use as a middle school, functioning as a State Middle School for Boys in the National Primary School (1921) and in the State Primary School in 1923, a name that remains until 1939. The school was operational until 1989, when the Communal Club is arranged in the building, where recreational activities were carried out (table tennis, billiards, backgammon, chess, card games). Currently, the building includes: a local museum, medical dispensary, headquarters of political parties, headquarters of non-governmental organizations, unused spaces, and storage spaces. The function of the building is a multicultural centre, but the building also houses in addition to 3 museum rooms, a medical office, a parliamentary office, a chapel and outbuildings of the church, warehouses, bathrooms
The works to be carried out are aimed at the remediation of the deficiencies, mainly structural and functional. The floor will be rebuilt with the restoration of the access steps, closures will be made with glass joinery in order to achieve access to the building through three areas, in the festive courtyard. Some walls and reinforcement works will be demolished, and interior partitions will be made with brick walls. Sanitary groups will be set up, including for people with disabilities and administrative staff.
Waterproofing works are suggested for the basement and under the walls of the ground floor by using modern sanitation methods, by injection with drying solutions, restoration of lime-based mortar plasters with the application of water vapor permeable paints and waterproofing systems with PVC and polypropylene geomembranes with polyester or glass fiber reinforcements.
The modifications of the first floor are aimed at repurposing the entire space and adapting it to the needs of the community. The restoration of the exterior joinery is provided with identical joinery regarding material, shape, and details, where appropriate, as well as with the replacement of damaged elements (beams, door frames, decorative elements) in other cases. The installations will be rebuilt throughout the building.
The project provides for repairs to the damaged plasters, the guards and the eaves will be restored, including all the moldings, identical to the existing model, using silicone molds. The existing details and ornaments will be cleaned, and where they are damaged, molds will be made according to the details of the existing ornaments and new ones will be cast, identical to the old ones. The new finish layer will be applied to painted elements. All the tinsmithing will be restored and the parasitic elements of the gutters will be removed, as will the pipes. The wooden joinery that is kept from the conference room will be refined after the removal of the existing paint, and they will be refurbished in transparent colours.
The aim is to increase and diversify activities by creating adequate spaces:

  • Basement - Marching band rehearsal area
  • Ground floor - museum hall, exhibition area, administration + reception hall, bathrooms, information point + fire prevention station, thermal power plant, circulation areas, hall, and access staircase
  • Floor - creative workshop, media room, dance hall, museum restoration workshop, conference room, translator room, protocol room, bathrooms, traffic areas

There will be an elevator for ladder transport and for people bound to wheelchairs, in order to solve the movement problem between floors in buildings that are not equipped with an elevator, escalator, etc., that will be operated by an assistant
The project also includes the arrangement of the two inner courtyards.

  • The main courtyard will have a square shaped rest area, with 6 benches, with a green space with plants and flowers suitable for each season. The pavement in this yard will be made of small concrete gray tiles, with an antique look.
  • The back of the secondary courtyard will house an area with an ovoid brick arrangement, which can also be used as a rest area and will include a small stage for cultural activities, book launches, presentations, outdoor stage, etc.,

Outdoor lighting will be provided with weather-proof LED floodlights.