{"id":317356,"date":"2021-05-05T16:40:04","date_gmt":"2021-05-05T13:40:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/?p=317356"},"modified":"2021-05-05T16:40:04","modified_gmt":"2021-05-05T13:40:04","slug":"national-cathedral-architect-details-construction-concept-for-church-of-churches-in-romania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arhiva.basilica.ro\/en\/national-cathedral-architect-details-construction-concept-for-church-of-churches-in-romania\/","title":{"rendered":"National Cathedral architect details construction concept for \u201cChurch of churches in Romania\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

The person who designed Romania’s National Cathedral, Architect Constantin Am\u00e2iei, spoke at Digi24 about the entire construction process, the concept, and what the Catedral will look like after completing the works.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a dialogue with Lucian M\u00eendru\u021b\u0103, the architect mentioned that the project started as an idea over 130 years ago but was resumed only after 1990.<\/p>\n

Constantin Am\u00e2iei briefed the steps made by Patriarch Teoctist for the location, project competitions, etc.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Patriarch Daniel came, he completely changed the rules of the game so that we would not have such failures, with all kinds of models, ideas and questionable locations. He said: we do concrete things. He established the final location, the one on September 13 Ave and established it legally, with documents, so that there would be no problems,\u201d Constantin Am\u00e2iei told Digi24.<\/p>\n

Concept<\/h1>\n

About the concept of the project, the architect said: \u201cThe National Cathedral, being called of the nation it had to represent the Romanian people, both historically and culturally and be representative for the Romanian Orthodox Church.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was kind of a collective concept; it wasn\u2019t just what inspired me. Usually, the architect is the project manager, and he does the overall project. But, in the case of the Cathedral, it was a collective approach,\u201d the architect of the National Cathedral confessed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main tower is the basic symbol of the building, the Ascension. Six smaller towers represent the six days of the week, and the seventh is infinity. Together with Patriarch Daniel, a theme was made that contained everything; he gave an imposed theme. We had to keep the basic ideas as they were and come up with innovations but without major changes,\u201d Constantin Am\u00e2iei explained.<\/p>\n

Style<\/h1>\n

As a style, the aim was to be close to what a church is in the collective mind, the architect added.
\n\u201cThe cathedral is, in fact, the church of the churches in Romania, and then I could not make a different temple or different architecture than that of a church.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMany elements of the Brancovenesque architecture were taken from the national-Romanian architecture. It was a kind of architecture representative for our country. We took over this Brancovenesque style and reinterpreted it in a more current way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The architect Constantin Am\u00e2iei pointed out that the building has a height of 120 meters to contrast with the People\u2019s House.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is how it was designed, to be very elevated in contrast to the People\u2019s House, which is 80 m wide and high. The idea was for the two buildings to be in contrast, the Cathedral to be built vertically. Because of this, the proportions are different. We have a small base with a height of 120 m.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained that although it is very high, the Cathedral will have no problems in the event of an earthquake: \u201cIt was practically inserted in the ground, and even during a magnitude 9 earthquake there will be no problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

The architect admited that there has been a lot of criticism about this project and that he considered that \u201cat least from the point of view of the concept, it probably should have been more modern, although tradition matters as much in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n

How will the National Cathedral\u2019s architectural ensemble look like<\/h1>\n

\u201cThe Cathedral will be in the centre of an architectural ensemble,\u201d the architect reminded, \u201cmeaning the church in the middle; it has a huge pedestrian square of about one and a half hectares in front of it, where big religious celebrations will take place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the cathedrals have a courtyard in front, where many people gather. Side colonnades border this square. Initially, in four corners were designed four apostolic buildings. There were small palaces in the same style as the Cathedral architecture, which completed the Cathedral’s precincts as a monastery. The idea of a monastery precinct. Two of them were abandoned,\u201d the architect revealed.<\/p>\n

Constantin Am\u00e2iei also said that the temporary chapel in front of the Cathedral will not exist after completing the works and that, likewise, the surrounding wall will not remain. Instead, everything will be pulled down and will be replaced with a much more transparent fence.<\/p>\n