INTBAU - Laslea Masonry Course 2007

Summer School in Romania Image by Aura Neag

SOLD OUT - PLEASE ENQUIRE ABOUT 2008

INTBAU Romania is pleased to announce a one week intensive Traditional Masonry Course at the beginning of August 2007. The event will take place in the Saxon area of Transylvania, settled in medieval times. The site chosen is a live project, the house number 344 in the Saxon village of Laslea. This is one of the biggest houses of the village, which was about to be demolished three years ago due to its structural problems.

Over the last few years the house has been restored by local craftsmen with the help of The Mihai Eminescu Trust. The work has been planned and supervised at different stages by the British Master craftsman, Henry Rumbold. The exterior of the 344 house of Laslea is completed restored now but more work remains to be done to complete the interior restoration.

The intensive Traditional Masonry Course has a practical hands-on approach and aims to provide training to local people and architecture students interested in traditional methods of restoration. The course will also include lectures, drawing and building exercises and field trips. All participants will work under the guidance and supervision of the British Master craftsman, Henry Rumbold.

Programme

Day 1 - MONDAY 13th August

Introduction to INTBAU international and INTBAU Romania

Presentation of health and safety rules

Lecture: Conservation & Restoration (including flora & fauna)

Short history of the Saxon settlements. Faults & repairs with traditional materials

Presentation of the 344 house (the site work) and the restoration techniques

Day 2 - TUESDAY 14th August

Lecture: Lime and mortars; bricks & plaster

Work on site: preparation of lime mortar, start of rendering of interior walls

Setting old buildings

Foundation & repair

Dinner

Day 3 - WEDNESDAY 15th August

Lecture: Rebuilding: stone, brick & lime plaster

Practical work: rendering of interior walls under guidance

Excursion to Viscri village to see how lime is prepared

Social event: Barbeque in the evening

Day 4 - THURSDAY 16th August

Lecture: Bricks. Different techniques and styles of laying bricks

Traditional repair of Saxon houses. Underpinning fractures

Practical work: rendering of interior

Parts of the group will try building in bricks if materials available

Dinner

Day 5 - FRIDAY 17th August

Practical work: rendering of walls & brick laying

Conclusion of the workshop: results, feedback

Dinner

Day 6 - SATURDAY 18th August

Drawing trip in the Saxon villages

Picnic in the surrounding nature

Final dinner

Day 7 - SUNDAY 19th August

Participants leave

Fees & Registration

�190 for Central and East European citizen participant

�250 Standard registration fee

The attendance fee includes accommodation with local people, breakfast, lunch and dinner on the teaching days, tuition and materials. Also, the fee will cover the cost for the field trips which will be organised during the course.

Please note that travel to and from Laslea is not included in the participation fee.

The places are allocated on a first come first served basis. You can register online by paying the attendance fee here.

How to get there

Laslea is situated close to Sighisoara, which is linked by train to Bucharest (capital of Romania) and Budapest (capital of Hungary). Most European airlines have both Bucharest and Budapest among their destinations, and prices vary.

From Bucharest one can take the daytime train, it is about 4 - 5 hours. From Budapest one can take the night train, which leaves Budapest about 10 in the evening and arrives in Sighisoara the next morning. To get from Sighisoara to a Laslea is best accomplished with a relatively inexpensive local taxi.

Please note that INTBAU cannot provide supporting documents for visa applications. For further details on Romanian visas please visit the website of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.