Planting Design 2013 Working Group 11 - Case Study B

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Please add the title of your case study here, adjust the map coordinates and replace the moa image with a characteristic image of your site

Name	Bucium region
Location	Bucium, Alba county
Country	Romania
Authors	Andra Spornic


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Rationale: Why is this case interesting?

Please give a short introduction to the site you have selected (not more than 150 words)

Bucium (German: Baumdorf) is a commune located in Alba County, in the central-western of Romania. It has a very small population (approx. 1500) and it contains thirty villages and three natural reservations (approx. 35 ha). The commune has a rich traditional architecture and authentic rural culture, with significant asset value at European level and a latent tourism and educational potential.
The theme to which I am referring is related to the natural landscape, perhaps one of the most important types of landscape that deserves a special attention due to the increasingly severe intervention on them.
This region is very important for me because of my two-year involvement in the summer workshops organized here for the protection of rural patrimony through practical activities such as: identification, inventory, surveys, rehabilitation and their promotion, to which is added cultural landscape studies.

Author's perspective

From which professional background/perspective are your documenting this case?

In my view, as a newly landscape architect, landscape is important because it links culture with nature, and the past with the present. One of the roles is that they influenced the character of our towns and cities and they provide places of widely ranging character, where people can relax, recreate and learn.
Landscapes are valuable because of their inherent interest, their contribution to both our national identity and our local distinctiveness.

Landscape and/or urban context of your case

Biogeography, cultural features, overall character, history and dynamics

Positioned at a distance of 43 km from the town Alba-Iulia, the commune attested from the Bronze Age consists of 30 villages gathered in the meadow and along the valleys or in scattered areas of the plateau. Located in the Metaliferi Mountains, the village is surrounded by mountain peaks with altitudes between 950 m and 1350 m and natural reserves: Detunata Goală, Detunata Flocoasă and Poiana cu Narcise (the Glade with Daffodils), with the adjoining villages Roşia Montană, Ciuruleasa, Lupşa and Mogoş. Beyond the activities related to the exploitation of arable land, pastures, forests, hayfields, animal breeding and processing the resulting resources, population dealt with gold mining since ancient times until modern and contemporary age. Traditional buildings made of wood and stone are the result of creation of local craftsmen and meets the needs, occupations and possibilities of locals. Urban influences leaves its mark on sacred vernacular architecture, originally made with the same traditional features, except triptychs that are scattered at the crossroads.

Illustration: Map; sketches; short descriptive analyses

Maps and sketches
Localization
Localization in the county
Bucium in Josephine Map of Transylvania, 1769-1773
Map Bucium village
View of the hills
Section through household
Detail - typical gate of the area

Analytical drawings

Please add four analytical sketches/drawings (or montages/schemes) of your case and take the following aspects into account:

natural dynamic versus cultural framework - in how far do these two forces come together in your case?
dynamic through the year (you may imagine how the site looks in spring and summer, maybe you also remember it)
highlight potentials and problems

Analytical Drawings
analytical drawing 1

Projective drawings

Please add four projective sketches/drawings (or montages/schemes) for your case and take the following aspects into account:
- How would you like this case to change in the near future? (in 1-2 years)
- And how could it look like in 10-15 years?

Projective Drawings
Worst case: Intensive exploitation (example: Rosia Poieni)
Best case: The untouched land

Summary and conclusion

Please summarize your case and give arguments for your projective design (approx 150 words).

We can conclude that, in order to save the natural landscape, cultural heritage and protection of rural heritage of this region of the Western Carpathians (Apuseni Mountains), severe measures should be taken like introducing national heritage protection legislation for landscape management, sustainable development of the natural landscape, national and international tourism promotion (as an attractive controlled touristic area). As negative examples we already have near the site the copper quarry Rosia Poieni that has been exploited and then left without greening it (acid waters are leaking in the tailings pond of Șesii Valley), and also Rosia Montana and its gold-bearing mountains are at risk of total destruction due to gold mining plans.