Time Box - Exhibition pavilions for the archeological site of Călugăreni
Designed and built between 2013 and 2016, these two pavilions are made as temporary exhibiton space for the Mures County Museum's archeological site in the small transylvanian village of Călugăreni (Mures County, Transylvania, Romania).
The architectural design is made by Gergely Sági, former student of architecture of BME (Budapest, Hungary) and the construction was done by the local citizens.
Conceptual bases:
It is a great challenge in an architectural sense, a great question, whether contemporary architecture can be present in a village in which the largest architectural intervention of the past 100 years has been some change of windows and doors; where the local image of the most modern materials is the red and blue metal rooftops, and the idea of „form” remains the archetypical shape of the house. What tools does contemporary architecture have in a conservative village so much sticking to traditions? Where could we start? Which values are we reflecting on, saving from current conditions, that are -without intervention- obviously disappearing soon and for ever? How can something fit into this environment, having a function that has been never seen there before, something, that has no ancestors, no past, no natural location in the village? Here being in connection with the environment is not a cliché coming from the vibes of „genius loci”, creating nice forms and transcendent content, rather a very practical need that secures the long-lasting future of the pavilion: having connection here is means of survival. In a situation where the house is left alone for 11 months of the year (the 12th one being the time of the excavation) in the corn field by the village the only chance for survivor is to have owner. And there can be owner only if locals become owners. If locals can relate to the small constructions by their village, if they are able to accept them, the community is able to look at them as its own and feel responsibility for them – in this case the pavilions can last the time they were constructed for. In any other case their inevitable future is decay and destruction. Considering these having connection is not only a purpose- it's the only chance for the existance of the pavilions.
