ARHITECTURA REZIDENŢIALĂ SĂSEASCĂ
SAXON RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE

Summary/Abstract: Transylvanian Saxon region is the largest area of medieval rural architecture in Europe. Following the premises given by medieval kings of Hungary, after 1100 AD German speaking immigrants were colonized in southern and eastern Transylvania, at the mountain passes, to guard the borders of the Empire. Understanding the built heritage of the area occupied by the Saxons involves a deep knowledge of the building method, fundamentally determined by specific climatic factors, the Western culture and way of thinking and a distinctive historical context. All this cumulate in a response that starts from the global view upon the context in which the architectural object is integrated and with whom has a relationship of interdependence. Excluding the subject of restating the well known fortified churches, which exist in every Saxon village and which receive special treatment due to ranking as historical monuments with high protection degree (UNESCO), this paper aims to the architectural heritage of traditional residential Saxon architecture. This has been insufficient legally protected, which highlight on the one hand various stages of decay and on the other hand many mistakes in the interventions (attempts/experiments) for repair / rehabilitation / restoration, which risk to change the whole image of the area. The study was based on the opportunity to make a survey to a house in the Saxon village of Alma Vii, Sibiu. The direct contact with this specific type of architecture has triggered the desire to deepen the study, starting by analyzing the constructive materials and the construction techniques as a basis in developing possible rehabilitation solutions.

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