Team: Calimanescu Andreea,

Cirlig Cristina,
Dudu Iulia Sabina
Restoration of Dr. Nicolae Minovici Museum

and Revitalization of the Historical Enclosure

-study case no.1-

 ABSTRACT

The present study seeks to highlight in the following analysis the evolution of the building and the site
through time and based on a diagnosis of the degradation state to justify the intervention category in
which it’s singed up. Also, the study will further analyze the restoration works to which the immobile
was subjected to.

 INTRODUCTION
The studied immobile, Dr. Nicolae Minovici
Museum, built by the architect Cristofi CERKEZ in
1905, is located in the northern part of Bucharest,
Romania. Built on demand of professor dr. Nicolae
Minovici, a passionate about Romanian tradition,
the building was one of the first Neo-romanian
constructions in Bucharest, built on layout of a
house, hosting in the end a museum for his
personal collection of folk art objects.
Registered as a historical monument of A importance
category (code LMI B-II-m-A-19206), the immobile has been
subject of restoration works in 2014 by Polarh Design
office, due to the building and the adjacent garden state of
degradation. The building has kept throughout
 1. 2019 - Site plan photo @GoogleMaps
time its integrity and has presented degradations
at the level of materials, structurally (only in the case of
the turret) and degradations caused by inadequate interventions. Thus, the building can be inscribed in
(a.) minimal interventions category of restoration works.

 HISTORICAL DATA
Dr. Nicolae Minovici Museum should have been in 1905 residence for the doctor. However, in 1906 the
destination of the immobile changes radically and becomes shelter for his wide collection of Romanian
ethnographic art and the first museum with this profile in Bucharest, initially named “Prof. Dr. Nicolae
Minovici National Museum of Art”. Together with the architect Cristofi Cerkez, dr. Minovici has searched
inspiration, for the architecture of the building, in traditional Romanian architecture.
On the 17th of July, 1937, according to the donation document authenticated by the Ilfov Court, the
building with patrimonial or museal character and the land of 13.878 square meters are donated by the
Minovici family to the Bucharest City Hall. After successive changes of administrators in the post-war
period and dispossession of heritage, following the Government Decision no. 806 on 2 nd of December,
1997, the real estate ensemble "Vila Minovici" and the popular art collection "Dr. Nicolae Minovici”
return in their current form, in the public property of the General Council of Bucharest.

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  GENERAL DESCRIPITON
Located on a “peninsula” surrounded by Lake Baneasa [1] and Herastrau [2], the site is positioned in the
near vicinity of Herastrau Park and large green areas, a characteristic that has been mostly kept from its
initial landscape.

1 2

 2. 1905 The oldest photo of the  3. 1906-1907 The villa and the  4. 2019 Aerial view of the site and its surrounding
villa, before the nowadays natural background
park in relation to the
Bucuresti-Ploiesti Bvd has been built surrounding natural context.

o The Park
Within its ensemble, villa Minovici faces a park on two of its
sides, which was designed at the same time with the project of
the historic building. It features a layout of alleys connecting the
villa with points on the plot and gardeners’ houses, alleys
surrounding green spaces and an orchard. It is equipped with
objects and sculptures made of stone imitation (Romanian:
“similipiatra”) a fountain and a bench with shingle roofing,
flower pots and supports, carved railings and steps, the works of
sculptor Wilhelm August VON BECKER. Initially, the park was
 5. 1906-1907 Orchard and the gardner house landscaped with fruit tree plantations and was surrounded by a
wooden fence carved with folk motifs, a fence that is missing
today following interventions prior to recent restoration works. Originally, the entrance to the enclosure
was made straight from the Bucharest-Ploiesti Highway on the northeastern corner of the park, through
a carved wooden gate of folk influence, covered with shingles. However, by 2014 most of these aspects
were gone.

o Villa Minovici
Inspired from the fortified building “cula”-type, of Romanian origins, the villa’s volume features
traditional architectural elements: a porch, turret, outdoor stairs, to which were added decorative
elements of Brancovenesc and Art Nouveau influences.
The building was conceived with a partial basement, ground
floor and an upper floor continued by a veranda, on a
structure consisting of load-bearing brick masonry, with
wooden slabs and a tall timber roof structure on posts
(Romanian popular name: “scaune”) with tile roofing.
At the façade level it can be remarked the presence of bas-
relief with plant motifs decorating the perimeter of arched
windows, a loggia on the main elevation at upper floor level,
with columns that connect the richly decorated (in stone
imitation/ “similipiatra”) parapets and arches. Extending it, on
the lateral right elevation, a subtle carved wooden balcony
was placed. This type of balcony with wooden components
was also used on the
 6. Main Eastern Facade Layout

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 opposite elevation, towards the park (point of interest), where the turret was raised, dominating the
building.

The ground floor, structured as a plan on a central axis, is composed of a

large room (2) which can be accessed from two sides, directly from the
outside through the exterior stairs (6), as well as from the entrance
hallway (1), located in the extension of the main central axis around
which the other rooms of this level (3-8) and the interior stairway
(secondary), that connects the ground and upper floors, are placed to the
 7. Ground Floor plan-survey
right and left side of it. Alike “cula” types of houses, from which this villa

takes its inspiration from, the entrances in the house are apparently
hidden and well protected, having distinct accesses to the ground and
upper floor levels. This aspect might be a curious one due to the fact that
this leads to separate operations of the both levels and comes to question if professor Nicolae Minovici
has taken into consideration of reuniting the public space with the private one, the exposed and the
living one.

 8. First-floor plan-survey


The first-floor layout was designed with two great central rooms, the other rooms being placed laterally.
On the ground floor imprint of the exterior staircase (6), raises up and extends the space of the loggia
acting as a transitory space between the exterior-interior, between

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public-private. Considering the functions in their ensemble, it can be remarked again the “ cula” type
functional system, having at the ground floor level the spaces for storage and services, the kitchen with
north orientation (7), and at the protected upper floor placing the residence with the daytime spaces-
guestroom (10), living and dining room (13), coffee room (15) - and nighttime spaces- the bedroom (12)
linked to the bathroom. On the eastern side, between the day and night areas, it is placed a buffer
room, a small chapel (11) on a square shape layout. Above this religious room raises up the tall turret
volume, reminding of the old medieval bell-towers. Its function is marked on the exterior through a
strong buttress which has both an esthetic and a structural role (equilibrating the tower at dynamic
loads). The turret volume encompasses at its last floor a loggia painted with frescoes and arabesques on
the ceiling. It was originally decorated on the perimetral arches with 40 crystal glass-bells, which gave
the villa its popular and unique name- “Villa with bells”.

The attic, through which can be made the access to the turret, is covered with tall timber-frame
structure on posts and offeres generous free spaces to further accommodate .

Overall, the austere architecture of the “cula” is well tempered in this case with elements of
Brancoveanu period, well-known for the richness of ornament and stone performancess. Within a great
technique in stone imitating work, the columns, railings, windows and doors perimetral frames are in
tempered contrast with the plaster whiteness, warm colours of wood and the soft iron embroidery. At
the top, the ceramic colour of the roof comes to finish the overall composition of the historical
monument architecture.

 9. Attic floor plan-survey



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  CONSERVATION STATE
Over time, the building has suffered numerous interventions, which, fortunately, have not affected
significantly the architecture and the initial aspect. After the 1940 earthquake, the turret was
consolidated with reinforced concrete elements, following the period’s concepts and technique. The
building was also severely affected by the 1977 earthquake, felt especially again at the turret’s level,
leading to its shift from its vertical axis. The consolidation works were: pouring reinforced concrete slabs
over the cellar and over the chapel’s vault, connecting them with reinforced concrete cores. All
consolidation works caused repairs and revisions of the composing architectural elements (joineries,
finishes, ceilings, roof structure, and roofing cover). Not all of these interventions were beneficial for the
historic building, regarding the concept, techniques of the times and materials used. The historic
building’s degradations, until restoration works, can be grouped in the following categories:

o Structural degradations
These are caused especially by the presence, within the
volume, of the tall turret, which is structurally fragile. It is
placed asymmetrically in the layout and is connected
structurally to the ensemble only through the ground and
first floor levels, the remaining levels of the turret are placed
independently of the volume from the attic level above. In
the near vicinity of the turret, can be remarked numerous
cracks at the level of the house walls.
Moreover, the wall of the main elevation is insufficiently
connected to the rest of the
 10. Section North-Sotuh
building, from a structural point of view. The masonry massif

at the upper side unloads on stone arches and columns.
Severe cracks can be observed in the masonry of the area
connecting the rest of the load- bearing walls, as well as at
the level of the arches.

 11. Main facade -East survey

 o Degradations caused by the ageing of the materials
-The outside wooden elements – eaves, posts, balconies, and
joineries – are affected by time and excessive humidity,
presenting traces of biological attack.
-The deterioration of the tile roofing has affected important parts
of the roof structure and has caused rotting of the flooring in
areas with strong infiltrations.

o Degradations caused by inadequate interventions

-Following recent interventions, the elevations and interior were
covered with successive layers of paint, under which both large
parts of t
he faux stone decoration and the interior murals have disappeared.

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-The recent repaving with concrete around the house through an inadequate technical solution,
compounded with the absence of a waterproof layer and an efficient system for evacuating rain water
around the building, led to the raising of humidity in the masonry walls at underground and ground floor
levels.

 CONCEPT OF INTERVENTION
The final objectives of the interventions on the historic building were the preservation, consolidation
and conservation of the museum, and the enhancement of the historic building and its surroundings.
Apart from conservation and consolidation, the concept also implies the enhancement of the historic
building. Thus, all proposed interventions, especially the exterior lighting and the landscaping of the
green area, had to take in consideration a very important aspect, namely the fact that the historic
building cannot live without the environment in which it was initially conceived. As a consequence, the
intervention concept had to focus on the following categories of works:
– consolidation works to ensure the structural integrity of the historic building within the rigors of the
current rules through structural interventions using traditional technologies,
– conservation works meant to ensure a return, as close as possible, to the initial appearance, by
releasing the building from the late, parasitical interventions, which lack any value from a functional and
architectural point of view,
– a functionality in accordance with the necessities of modern museum use.

 DESCRIPTION OF INTERVENTIONS
o Consolidation works
These works have considered restoring the structural capacity of the immobile, within the limits of the
actual norms, as follows:
 a reinforced concrete bond beam (belt) on all interior and exterior walls at -0.35 m level,
waterproofed on its exterior face.
 a drilled bond beam (belt) in the slab above the ground floor level
 reinforced concrete bond beam (belt) on all the walls in the case of the slab above the first floor
 execution of slats and reinforced concrete columns anchored in the belt from -0.35 m and in the
corniche belt, continuous throughout the height of ground floor and first floor.
 in the area of the turret, the slats are anchored in the belt from -0.35 level and rise up until the
parapet level of the loggia.
 the roof timber structure has been restored and damaged elements have been replaced.
 injection and re-bonding of cracks
 consolidation and anchoring of chimneys.
o Restoration works
This category aimed to bring the monument to its initial appearance in all the components of plan,
architecture and decoration.

 12. Southern Facade survey

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 It was dismantled the cement-based interior
plasters, opening them on a height of 75 cm
at the ground floor rooms, sanitating
(Romanian: “asanare”) the masonry and
fixing the original plaster, with gaps refilled
with lime-based mortar.
 The exterior walls plasters were
rehabilitated, respectively it was dismantled
the cement-based exterior plasters, fixed the
original plaster and filled the gaps with lime-
based mortar. The finishing layer is a thin,
hydraulic lime-based mortar coating (approx.
0.5 mm), with a yellowish white color.
 At the base, on the masonry area, found
beneath the glass layer, implemented initially
with a horizontal waterproofing role, it was
 14. Ground floor plan-restoration
implemented macro-porous conservation
 renderings – a system of sanitizing renders for
preventing the accumulation of moisture in the masonry.
 At ground floor level, was reassemble the flooring on a reinforced floating screed in order to
contain the heat distribution system (convectors).
 It was executed an aeration channel of 5 cm on the perimeter of ground floor rooms, aiming to
evacuate the humidity from the underlayers of the floor and from the walls.
The roof structure was replaced, which was in an advanced degradation state, and the construction of
the new roof structure allows the use of the attic space. All elements are coated against fire and
biological attacks and was provided thermal insulation-mineral wool. The new spaces at the attic level
are for design office and storage spaces, created through new partitions of plasterboard with a metal
structure and mineral wool at the interior.
 New tile roofing and gutter pipe system on the entire perimeter of the house for the rapid
evacuation of rainwater;
 Wooden elements were provided with fire-
proof layer and with a protection coat against
biological attacks. The original windows fixed
with sealant were replaced with 8 mm thick
 15. First floor plan-restoration

glazing and wooden rods and gaskets
for fixing.
 Reconstruction of the chimneys
according to period photographs (the
replaced ones were not the original
ones).
 Dismantling of concrete
pavements and platforms, replaced
with a stone pavement fixed on sand
bed;
 The finish layers of the floors were
 13. Section through veranda – East-West
repaired and recompleted. The interior
and exterior painted surfaces were cleaned, restored and recompleted. It were restored oak elements
with carved decorations, such as the balconies, interior and exterior joineries, eaves, poles and flower
boxes, the glass bells system, the original metal grids (and the “new” ones were replaced with copies
after the original documented models), the stone stairs and interior wooden stairs, furniture elements

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made of stone imitation (benches, statues, pedestals, etc.). The severely deteriorated pieces were
replaced.

o Installation works
This category has been considered for modernization purposes according to the museum use, and also
as instruments for highlighting the ensemble. The immobile was provided with equipment that uses
geothermal energy, a HVAC system consisting in a geothermal boiler, placed at the underground level at
-1.73m, and equipment for heating and cooling consisting in convectors mounted in the floor. The
convectors connections are not visible as they pierce the slabs from bottom to top and the equipment
are hidden behind special conceived wooden masks that meant to match the house design.

 EVALUATION ACCORDING TO INTERVENTION PRINCIPLES

According to the contemporary principles of conservation and restoration of historical monuments,
developed in Venice Charter (1964), the interventions are evaluated as follows:
 Up until the last restoration works, the art.4 hasn’t been respected and the immobile and its
ensemble have arrived in an advanced state of degradation. (annex 16)
 A new passageway made out of glass has been built within the park (annex 4), falsifying the historical
evidence as it alters the compositional balance and the relation between the garden and the
immobile (art. 12).
 The “modernization” of the immobile, has brought changes at the level of the interior layout,
demolishing partition walls and considering the attic level a space subjected entirely to redesigning,
where new partition walls have been placed in order to create an office space, closed for public use.
These changes are not accorded to art.5 marking the limits of modifications demanded by a change
in function to not modify the layout and decoration of the monument.
 Art.9 of Venice Charter states that the restoration aim is to preserve and reveal the aesthetic and
historic value of the monument, based on authentic documents and that it must stop where the
conjecture begins and any indispensable additional work to bear a contemporary stamp. However, in
the case of Villa Minovici, it can be argued that many interventions are not accorded to this article, as
follows:
1. Repaving the exterior alleys with a design of cobblestone in no respect to the original
material, which might alter the perception of an unspecialized observer whether the alley
belong the contemporary period or not. (annex 7)
2. Although the initial design of the villa hasn’t be equipped with rainwater evacuation system,
the new restoration works have added gutter and downpipe system on all the contour of
immobile roof, altering the aesthetic and historic value of the monument. (annex 17)
3. Repaving the interior ground level floor with brick tiles that do not match the original work,
nor it reveals a contemporary touch. (annex 15)
4. The lighting system present at the ground floor highlighting the exhibited objects, alter the
overall image of the room and being in addition to the existing chandeliers, they might’ve not
been indispensable. (annex 12)
 Art. 16 states that it is recommended that records based on documentation (analytical and critical
reports) illustrated with drawings and photographs of every stage of restoration, preservation works,
should be published. However, up until the beginning of practical restoration work, there hasn’t been
published any document as such.
 CONCLUSIONS

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 In my opinion, in order to preserve the authentical value of the building, I would have considered a
softer intervention in the case of
exterior alleys, such as pea gravel,
instead of cobblestone bordered with
different stone tiles. Also, for the
ground floor finishing, the restored
original parquet or new one and for the
vestibule, if the original floor has been
revised and proven to not be possible to
be restored (annex 10 and[1]1906 12), then a [4]2019 [5]2019
material alike,
cement based,
from the
contemporary
[2]1906 period, [3]2007
such as [6]2019 [7]2019
polished
BEFORE RESTORATION- IMAGE OF THE PARK AFTER RESTORATION- IMAGE OF THE PARK PICTURING THE PAVEMENT
microcement.
In the case of
consolidation works, I
would have considered
flexible materials or
interventions that
accomplish the same,
or better, structural
capacities as metal or
carbon fiber elements,
instead of reinforced
concrete. Nonetheless, all the interventions considered both at the roof structure and the slab between
the 1st floor and the attic level, which resulted in their complete replacement with new elements and
providing a new height to accommodate the offices, are in my opinion aggressive and it could’ve been
considered another space for the offices or the existing space considered on a smaller area.
Overall, the building has kept its integrity and the last restoration operations have had a good impact,
restoring the immobile initial aspect, with a good restoration work on the details of the villa.

Annexes:

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 [16]2011 [17]2019
BEFORE RESTORATION- Main facade (gutter and downpipe
AFTER RESTORATION- Main facade (copper gutter and
system belonging to other intervention periods) downpipe system)

[18]1905
BEFORE RESTORATION- immobile unequipped with ra
[8]2007 [9]2019
BEFORE RESTORATION- WINDOW DETAILS AFTER RESTORATION- WINDOW DETAILS

[10]1906 [11]2019 [12]2019

BEFORE RESTORATION- VESTIBULE ORIGINAL FLOOR AFTER RESTORATION- VESTIBULE AND THE „SALON” FLOOR FINISH - BRICK TILES AND LIGHTING SYSTEM

[13]1906 [14]2019 [15]2019

BEFORE RESTORATION- „SALON” IN THE CONTINUITY

OF THE VESTIBULE AFTER RESTORATION- „SALON” EXHIBITION AND NEW FLOOR

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Bibliography:
1.MAJURU, Adrian, Familia Minovici. Univers spiritual, Bucureşti, Editura Institutului Cultural Român, 2005.
2. CÃPÃTÂNÃ, Mircea, RESTAURAREA MUZEULUI VILA DR. N. MINOVICI, ARGUMENT, Editura UAUIM, 2010.

-Websites:
https://voluntaripentrupatrimoniu.turismistoric.ro/2018/09/19/povestea-familiei-minovici-din-cartierul-baneasa/
https://issuu.com/electricianul/docs/ri0418_1
https://muzeulbucurestiului.ro/muzeul-nicolae-minovici.html
https://www.icomos.org/charters/venice_e.pdf
https://www.anuala.ro/

Photographies sources:
1,4 - https://www.google.com/maps
2,3,5- http://www.arvha.org/
6,…,10- https://argument.uauim.ro/f/argument/attachment/ARG2_M_Capatana.pdf
11,12- https://uauim.ro/galerie/
13,14,15-https://www.anuala.ro/

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