Pavilion no. 4 of the Sighetu Marmației Territorial Inspectorate of the Border Police is a monument building: a former military barracks from the early 19th century, raised in the Habsburg period and listed in the Register of Historic Monuments. PPAE designed the rehabilitation and modernisation of the pavilion, in a design & build arrangement, together with Proiect Invest SRL — an intervention on a monument, in the historic center of the town, where every technical decision must respect the building's heritage value.

Challenges

The essential challenge of an intervention on a monument is reconciling two requirements that pull in opposite directions: preserving the historic character of the building and, at the same time, bringing it up to current technical standards — from seismic safety to energy performance. Pavilion no. 4 — an Austrian-style construction, with an "I"-shaped plan, load-bearing stone masonry walls, floors with small brick vaults and a timber roof structure — had suffered significant deterioration from water infiltration: a damaged roof structure, weakened timber floors, and degraded period plasterwork and joinery. It had to be restored to good technical condition and functionally adapted to current needs, without losing its heritage value.

Solutions

The intervention preserved the footprint and massing of the building (the built area does not change), focusing on rehabilitation and modernisation: rebuilding the affected roof structure and roofing, consolidating and repairing the floors, restoring the facades, the joinery and the period finishes, in the spirit of the original architecture. The technical improvements needed to meet current standards were integrated discreetly, without altering the historic image, while inside the spaces were reorganised for current administrative functions. The design & build arrangement, together with Proiect Invest SRL, allowed close coordination between design and execution — essential on a monument site, where solutions are adjusted as the building reveals its real condition.

Result

For the Border Police, one of the inspectorate's monument buildings brought back to life, in the historic center of Sighet. For PPAE, a heritage project — the rehabilitation of a former 19th-century barracks, in a design & build arrangement — that demonstrates the office's ability to work on buildings of historic value as well, under the specific requirements of monuments.

Do you have a monument building or a construction of historic value to rehabilitate? The PPAE team can support your project from concept to completion. Contact us