The 1989 Timisoara Revolution Route

On 17.10.2022, funding contract no.8 was signed for the project “TIMIȘOARA EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE: THE MEMORIAL OF THE REVOLUTION OF DECEMBER 1989” under the call for projects PNRR/2022/C11/MIPE/I2./Modernization/creation of museums and memorial, National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Pillar IV. Social and Territorial Cohesion, Component 11 – Tourism and Culture, Investment – I2. MODERNISATION/CREATION OF MUSEUMS AND MEMORIALS.

The total amount of the Financing Contract is 22.353.298,72 lei, of which the maximum amount of non-reimbursable financing is 22.341.398,72 lei made up of the eligible amount from PNRR – 18.799.791,00 lei, and the VAT amount related to eligible expenditure from PNRR – 3.541.607,72 lei.
The project is implemented in the period 17.10.2022-17.12.2024.
The sources of financing for the above-mentioned project are the European Union through the temporary financial instrument – #NextGenerationEU and the state budget.

General objectives:
– Sustainable commemoration of the events of December 1989;
– Interpretation in a contemporary context and through direct experience of the events of 1989;
– To build an urban context that gives the opportunity to reflect and preserve this experience of 1989 in Timisoara.

Specific objectives:
– To create a visually, mediatically, thematically, and conceptually coherent route linking the landmarks of the December 1989 Revolution in Timișoara;
– To create landmarks in the public space through materiality and technology that reflects the memory of the December 1989 Revolution in Timișoara;
– Improving the quality of the public space;
– Integration of an Internet of Things and media infrastructure (Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, New Media Art) allowing a sensorial and emotional experience of the place.

 

 

Theme and context

 

The Timisoara people who took to the streets in December 1989 for ideals such as freedom and human dignity are models of civic conduct. Their sacrifice is the foundation of today’s Romania, a state based on the rule of law, where dignity, citizens’ rights and freedoms, political pluralism, and the right to vote are supreme values. This visibly marked urban route only underlines this truth.
This memorial aims to bring the events of 1989 into the public space, at points identified as having historical importance for Timișoara”, from the perspective of the Revolution. These interventions contain elements common to all the locations so as to result, at a perceptive level, a route of the Revolution.
Nine intervention areas were proposed for the beginning: Saint Mary’s Square (2 points), Traian Bridge, Opera Square (2 points), Liberty Square, Saint George’s Square, CJT Prefecture (2 points), Neptun Baths, Heroes’ Cemetery, Martyrs’ Way.

 

 

Working with land, modularity, technology

 

Complete and integrated development of all intervention areas presents the ideal solution. But this is a long and complex process that needs a strategic start. We therefore propose a modular system of condensed public spaces, located within each of the zones, clearly differentiated and delimited in relation to them.

We have chosen to work primarily with the ground of the city, with horizontal surfaces of small or medium size, but with a marked and precious character. Each of the interventions consists of three main elements:
– One or more rectangles covered with turquoise granite slabs of identical size 1x1m. Surrounded by a metal band (bronze), these are precisely delimited from the surrounding space, but set at the same height and easily and permanently accessible.
The metal band is inscribed with a text about a particular moment related to that place in the days of the December Revolution. The text is written in the third person, an account of the most important events that took place on that site, or in the surrounding area.
– “Testimony”. A plaque of the same metal containing a short quotation from a testimony of a direct participant in the events. These texts will contrast with the previous ones, mainly texts taken from statements of survivors and witnesses to the events, written in the first person.
– Where space allows, an essential element of urban furniture will be placed, a bench that follows the general mode and allows for better marking but also spontaneous and varied use of the space.
– A plate of the same metal (bronze) is integrated into the surface of the bench. It contains engraved text of minimal dimensions, mentioning this place as part of the whole route, as well as an invitation to access the project’s Extended Reality platform. The text is also rendered in synthetic Braille. Where the location of the bench is not possible, a short version will be integrated into the metal band around the stone platform.

Within each area, the insertion adapts to the existing situation, creating different relationships with its context.

 

 

Place of memory, day by day

 

What this project underlines is precisely the idea that the moment of the Revolution is part of our lives, every day. It’s as simple as breathing, and it grounds our existence in a world that is totally different from the dictatorship of the communist years.
We propose that in this powerful way, by inserting a special type of pavement, we can mark some places in the Timisoara urban route and propose a different type of experience of memory, in which the monument does not remain outside and is set apart from the life of the city, but is inserted into everyday life. These interventions on the pavements and in the city squares are part of the daily routes, are crossed or discovered by visitors to Timișoara, and will be celebrated every day.
This idea of the legacy of the Revolution, this free breathing of ours, also led us to the idea of choosing the color turquoise to mark our interventions. The idea of marking the ground with a color close to the sky is a way of celebrating this heroic moment. The materials proposed in the project, turquoise granite and bronze, ensure the strength and durability of the interventions.

 

 

Web and extended reality

 

Building an online platform (a web app), build a dynamic archive with photos, video and audio recordings, and other documents related to the Revolution and the city. The newly created platform also promotes and encourages collaboration with other projects dedicated to the Revolution, thus promoting the diversity of voices and pluralism of perspectives from which this historical moment can be understood and taken into account.
In each of these places, this augmented reality (AR) application, which works with the geolocation function of the phone, can be used to access documentary material in a multimedia experience based mainly on images and sound. This route of the Revolution works both through its physical existence in the city and as a basis for virtual exploration.

 

We have endeavored to find documentary photographs that adequately capture the moments presented in the text, as we understand the importance of the visual element in the economy of this platform. The photographic documentation of the Timisoara Revolution was largely incidental due to the spontaneous nature of the event. Therefore, we were not able to find photographs for every area and every important moment presented. However, we have chosen to include images that represent those areas, even if they were taken after the events, as we want to provide as complete and evocative an experience as possible. Despite the fact that there is no perfect chronological match, the images selected aim to convey the emotions and atmosphere of those December days, in support of an intense experience for those who will explore the platform.

 

The proposed platform can thus be accessed both directly online, from anywhere in the world, and on-site, the main difference being the type of visitor experience.

 

 

 

The project team
Constantin Goagea (Bucharest) – architect and project leader
Justin Baroncea (Bucharest) – architect, design specialist
Cristian Boltres (Timisoara) – architect, design specialist
Simona Nunes (Timisoara) – architect, design specialist
Stefan Ghenciulescu – architect, researcher, a specialist in urban historical research, publishing specialist
Adrian Kali – historian
Ioana Gruita – curator and museographer at the National Museum of Transylvania
Gruia Badescu (Bucharest) – researcher, post-doctoral candidate, and specialist on urban reconfigurations and memory practices after dictatorships, wars, and the collapse of empires
Ioana Isaiu (Timisoara) – architect
Cristina Ginara (Bucharest) – architect
Alex Voicu (Bucharest) – architect
Dilmana Yordanova (Bucharest) – video & graphic designer, media artist, independent curator
Ioan Cernei – programmer, web developer