Photo purchased from istock
Welcome to the 3rd episode! Sorry that we are slightly later than usual today, but there was an abrupt change from the original schedule, as my interview had to cancel. So, please enjoy this case study-again, the full transcript is down below the citations.
TRANSCRIPT:
Frescos, cloisters, and history oh my!-It’s time for Architecture, Coffee, & Ink.
~30 second theme song
“Hello, this is Hollywood C. and you’re listening to Architecture, Coffee, & Ink. A podcast dedicated to introducing concepts, detailing out designs, and tackling the architecture you might not realize the meaning behind. I’m your hostess and I am here today to start introducing you to the designs that make you wonder why.”
tag line: So I ask you to brew your coffee, grab your sketch book and pen, and let’s begin.
So thank you once again for tuning in! Before I start the show, I just wanted to announce that since the last episode, the show has expanded to 7 platforms, so thank you for listening from wherever you get your podcasts at! Also, I wanted to apologize for the transcript last week, I used an app to help me and tried to correct the mistakes afterwards, but apparently I missed a couple. And to finish the announcements with another good comment, the show officially has a Facebook page and a group! All the same name as the show! There is two questions you have to answer to join the group-who is the host, which is me Hollywood, like the city. And the second is just your opinion. I just want to know what your favorite project is, and I might just use your answers as a recommendation for a show, with a little shout out.
So, while I was grappling with what to discuss, I noticed that the weather went colder, the smell of pumpkin spice perfumed the air, and the leaves here are slowly changing colors-and getting to that perfect amount of crunch before they touch the ground. So even looking at them, you can almost hear the phantom crackles and crunches that are to come. So of course, I double checked my planner and calendar that no grad student can survive without. And now that I have gotten through my week of midterms, I finally emerged enough from my studies to realize that its 2 weeks until Halloween! Now, with Halloween- I will be releasing an extra Halloween episode in addition to my normal show. So if you just want the usual show, you can listen to the regular episode-but if you also enjoy listening to the creepy architecture and some of the stories from them-Look forward the double release on the 31st, with another conversation/interview episode on the 24th!
So in preparation for this week, I decided to focus on case studies again, as my interview got cancelled. And while I was traveling down my rabbit hole of what to talk about, I realized that the best way to avoid focusing on one area too much, and accidentally excluding either a case study or a region was to print out a list of all the countries in the world and use that to cross off where I have been and plan out where I am going next. Now obviously, I will have to exclude conversations, interviews, and specials from that list, as I will go where-ever the interviewee takes me.
So, after visiting Italy for episode 1, let’s take a travel break, as many of us here are either finishing our midterms or still in the process of completing them. Join me now for a Romanian Holiday.
So my interest in Romanian architecture actually extends to before architecture school. As many of my classmates know, I am really fond of my sketch book, and can often be found with five different on-going notebooks. Many of which have to be with me, either in my purse, or in my bookbag. It’s my one accessory that I never go without. Throughout my life, I have often jotted down either notes and locations that I have studied up on, for fun, in my spare time. Because I live for history, and jotting down and sketching plants, or corners of buildings I find interesting. Several of these books have space dedicated to buildings and locations I would love to travel to-a kind of bucket list of architecture buildings and landscapes, that for a space of time, I was pinning to a map behind my door in my childhood home. Now, one of these landscapes that captivated me, was Romania.
Now in the interest of honesty, I’ll self-shame and admit that perhaps this was driven in part by my love of Halloween and monster movies and sci-fi, causing me to first seek out Vlad III, or Vlad Țepeș, vlad Dracula (/ˈdrækjələ/; Romanian: Vlad Drăculea [ˈdrəkule̯a]. From there, I spiraled into several styles, gothic and Brâncovenesc, Moldavian, and Byzantine styles. However, I know that I couldn’t begin to cover everything, even with a few days-particularly not when I was only taking brief notes of further rabbit holes and less concise details, given that at the time I thought I had zero interest in architecture. Yes, I am now completely aware that I was obviously into architecture, but teenage me was clearly a rebel on a mission, so let’s give her a little leeway.
In the interest of providing interesting information without sounding like the Wikipedia Remix, I wanted to focus on the Monastery of Horezu. Now finding, don’t ever say I don’t do research for y’all, because a lot more research went into this week’s episode-even with the last minute change in plans. So this project actually starts with Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu. Who rose to power during the late 17th century and ruled until his untimely death in the 18th century. Officially, I found that the years listed as his reign were from 1688-1714. He rose to power following his uncle’s death. And he and his family were tortured and executed by the ottomans under the leadership of Sultan Ahmed III. However, during his reign, Prince Constantin focused on arts, and development of the culture. Which led to him developing the previously mentioned Brâncovenesc, which was based on Byzantine, Ottoman, Renaissance, Orthodox, Christian, and Islamic Architectural styles. If you are in the field, you may have heard this also called Wallachian or Romanian Renaissance, which eventually would inspire Ion Mincu and others into the Romanian Revival Architecture, which was all of the aforementioned mixed with Art Nouveau. These are all pretty gross understatements that fail to truly capture the beautiful designs, and if you get a chance, I would highly encourage a quick interweb search. You really won’t regret it. It really is exciting to see both the familiar elements, and the new distinct way that they are combined together. Now, I choose the Monastery Horezu for two reasons. One, on just about every paper I have read, and every article, this project is listed as the living testament or role model of Prince Constantin’s ideals. Second, among the frescos on the buildings, they chose to honor him after his death by including himself and his family.
So this monastery was founded by him in 1690, and is actually still in use as a nunnery, that was established in 1872. Nestled into rolling hills and deep forests, the pictures of the exterior struck me as picturesque. It reminded a lot of that style especially as it was taught to me. The entire design is carefully enclosed in walls, with a cloister center. For those who don’t know, a cloister is basically the central courtyard of a monastery, church, etc. It can be attached to other things as well but for the hopes of keeping it simple. If you think of any movie, often when the protagonist is either seeking advice or research-they are walking in a covered walkway, with a central courtyard-often with columns holding it up the covering on each side, that is a cloister. However, unlike other cloisters, this one follows Orthodox views, so the main church is actually in the center. To compare, in Islamic landscape, where the courtyard is often following the Quran, instead of a water features and four quadrants, imagine pathways and a big central building dividing up the landscape. Additionally, the monastery has a refectory, belltowers, Monk’s cells, and prince residence. One website wrote that each of the bells were 300-1000 kilos, with four bells, however, I was unable to confirm that anywhere else, and the UNESCO video on YouTube, notes that they used wooden clappers to call everyone together. The center building is 32m by 14m, and the entire monastery boosts a modest 3 hectares of land. It was names for the Eagle Owls, one of my favorite animals. The myth, that again, I only found on a few websites, and wasn’t fully able to confirm, was that they were forced to build when the Eagle Owls sung, for free of persecution. Regardless of the validity, it does make a good story about the name. Now, this site was established in 1993 as an UNESCO site, and remains open for visitors and overnight guests, upon asking for blessings.
Now, that we have discussed the history, it’s time for the analysis. So while all of the information above is extremely important, and something that we should never skip in the research phase, for me, discussing and analyzing why this fits into my project, and describing what it is, is essential to wrapping up a case study. Now what makes this style of architecture truly into Art, is that the frescos were designed so anyone can understand them. They were literally designed with the intention of conveying the stories to the illiterate people living in the surrounding areas. For me, that attempt to bring something to public, and make it accessible makes this building stand out. Additionally, the octogonal towers, covered in high windows, with sweeping ornate arches, covered with geometric circles stands out as a distinctive feature. The breathtaking columns show the captivating work, that allows the ceiling covered frescos to continue down, evoking in me the idea that they are surrounding you with the stories that they convey. These frescos were by Constantinos from Greece. And were of both heaven and hell. Additionally, the buildings lie in east-west access with hermitages and a few surviving additional building standing like lone guards amid the war-destroyed remains from centuries past. Don’t mistake me, the buildings are still picturesque, and the history and perfection of the building cannot be understated. It is detailed, but clean, and allows you moments that both steal your breath and return it in equal measure while surrounding you with history. But more for me, this style shows what happens when someone has conservations across several styles and actually listens. You can heard the cries of the people, but choke on the stone vines grappling across the some areas of the buildings. And despite this overwhelming detail, the design looks clean and pristine.
Thank you so much for joining me today.
Once again a big thank you to all my listeners! A quick call to action: Please rate and review, share with your friends, neighbors, and family, your professor-whomever you think needs some architecture in their life. We again have a Facebook page and private group, both of which are under the same name: Architecture, Coffee, & Ink. The answer to the question-who is the host-is Hollywood, like the city. And second question is just your opinion, it had me put down two questions, so I am just interest in what everyone’s answer is, and I might just use it as a recommendation for a show with a little shout out. If you want to either be featured, or have a case study suggestion or perhaps just want to share a story of your favorite design or experience, you can either find me at Architecture, Coffee, & Ink the website is: https://architectureink.design.blog/ .
My twitter is @hollywoodconrad. Everything will be linked in the show notes, including my incredibly long URL. There is a Contact form currently at the home page of the website. You can also email me at architecturecoffeeandink@gmail.com all spelt out without the ampersands or commas. The theme song, is by me in Garageband. The other music is also from me in garageband, and everything is credited along with the sources on the blog- Again, please- please support your local artists, and try something new. Be excited next for week as I am joined by some of my classmates for a conversation about Studio Culture-we will be discussing both how both the college of Architecture and the College of Landscape will treat studio and interact together. But signing off as always,
May your coffee mugs be full, and your ink wells never run dry.
60 secs end song re-looped.
SOURCES:
:: 3W Design — http://www.3wdesign.ro :: “Newsletter.” Horezu monastery – remarkable example of pure Romanian “Brancoveanu art” | Unique attraction in Romania. Accessed October 18, 2021. http://www.welcome2romania.ro/en/unique-attractions/horezu-monastery.htm.
Admin. “Brancovenesc – Diving into Romanian Architecture.” Interesting Times Bureau, March 17, 2018. https://interestingtimes.ro/brancovenesc-diving-into-romanian-architecture/.
Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. “Monastery of Horezu.” UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed October 18, 2021. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/597/.
“Cloister.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Accessed October 18, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/topic/cloister.
“Constantin Brâncoveanu.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, August 21, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantin_Br%C3%A2ncoveanu.
CUCIUREANU, Adriana. “Directory of Open Access Journals.” Diversitate si Identitate Culturala in Europa. Editura Muzeul National al Literaturii Romane, November 1, 2014. https://doaj.org/article/76a3d0a3db4a4da1ab8c7550eb85c08c.
CUCIUREANU, Adriana. “Directory of Open Access Journals.” Diversitate si Identitate Culturala in Europa. Editura Muzeul National al Literaturii Romane, November 1, 2014. https://doaj.org/article/76a3d0a3db4a4da1ab8c7550eb85c08c.
CUCIUREANU, Adriana. “Romanian Culture within UNESCO Cultral Heritage.” Shibboleth authentication request. Accessed October 18, 2021. https://www-tandfonline-com.utk.idm.oclc.org/doi/pdf/10.1080/13507486.2014.960816?needAccess=true.
“Horezu Monastery.” and the legend of Constantin Brancoveanu. Accessed October 18, 2021. https://rolandia.eu/en/blog/unesco-sites/horezu-monastery.
“Horezu Monastery.” Home, July 12, 2021. https://www.panacomp.net/horezu-monastery/.
“Horezu Monastery.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, March 21, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horezu_Monastery.
“Ion Mincu.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 5, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Mincu.
“Monastery of Horezu (UNESCO/NHK) – Youtube.” Accessed October 18, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHQdwbgCb38.
“Romanian Architecture.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, September 18, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_architecture.
“Romanian Revival Architecture.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 17, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_Revival_architecture.
UNESCO’s World Heritage List from Romania. Accessed October 18, 2021. http://www.cimec.ro/Monumente/unesco/UNESCOen/indexC2.htm.
“Vlad Țepeș (Disambiguation).” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, January 31, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlad_%C8%9Aepe%C8%99_(disambiguation).
“World Heritage Site.” Monastery of Horezu – World Heritage Site – Pictures, Info and Travel Reports. Accessed October 18, 2021. https://www.worldheritagesite.org/list/Monastery+of+Horezu.