Case Study - Fîntîneanu House in Slatina. Study for attribution of protected historical monument status and restoration project proposal

The topic proposed in the paper is first intended to bring into question the process of the attribution of protected historical monument status for a house of significant architectural and aesthetic value, located in the town of Slatina – Olt - county.

The restoration of the Fîntîneanu house would not only return the building to the position it deserves, but would also bring a maximum of benefit to the surrounding area, by providing a breath of fresh air in a neighbourhood of the old center, left to slowly and agonizingly deteriorate for decades on end. The main advantage of the house is its position - right on the boundary separating the living, attractive part of the city from a dormant area comprising mostly buildings in severe states of disrepair.

Fîntîneanu house is a typical case for urban situations where the structure of the urban tissue and the layout of the plots bear decisive influence on the architectural object. Fîntîneanu House is representative for the late XIX – early XXth century, but unique if we refer to the city limits. The classification process and the desire to strengthen and restore requires a series of very important decisions on both an aesthetic and a functional level, measures taken in order to enhance the architectural object and, implicitly, its immediate vicinity.

Consolidation and restoration takes time, skill and a generous budget. In order to revitalize, to bring this house to life a wise decision has to be made regarding its future use. Apparently, these two categories of problems are parallel. Independence is only apparent because the technical and functional cannot be separated at any time from one another.