Refurbishment and Extension of The Marionette Theatre in Arad

Flavia graduated The Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of Timisoara in 2023, and spent a semester abroad at ETSA Sevilla as an Erasmus student. Over the past few years, her passion for historical buildings and the urban environment has inspired her to take part in various projects and competitions regarding the conservation of the cultural built heritage or ways of improving the quality of public space.

The site is located in the historical center of Arad, in the protected area and in what is established as the “Cultural Quarter” of the city, close to the main avenue (Bd. Revouției) and the grand theatre of the city (“Ioan Slavici” Classical Theatre). Strategically, the project aimed to transform the current marionette theatre into a cultural center of animation, in order to include more functions, support all of its activities and facilitate the technical processes regarding shows. Thus, the theatre could become both a meeting place for different groups of animation professionals and a platform of interaction between them and the public, ultimately attracting more people and better serving the community in Arad. To achieve this, the site was cleaned off of the small deteriorated constructions and another building existing on the site was repurposed into space for the theatre. This allowed for a generous courtyard, which becomes a natural extension of the pedestrian street, dedicated to meeting, performance and play. The theatre building has a long history - it was build in 1929 as a cultural house for the industrialists of Arad. During the last century it constantly changed its shape, adapted and therefore lost certain characteristics. The proposal aimed to bring back and reimagine some of these lost characteristics, defining for the atmosphere, while also adapting them to the current function, a marionette theatre. The proposed extension of the second building on the site is both a stage for outdoor performances and an engaging element, defined by light, shadow and translucency, concepts strongly linked to the world of theatre and animation. This object marks the typology of the site, without physically occupying the corner.