Revitalization Proposals for Green Interior Courtyards in the Historical Centre of Timisoara

Abstract

The historic district “Cetate” is the greenest district of Timisoara, with a 52% coverage of green areas, due to the presence of parks and green banks of the Bega River. The “City of roses” or “Little Vienna”, as Timisoara is known locally, has gotten its names from the abundancy of greenery and flowers that used to embellish the urban landscape, private gardens and parks, as an important part of the urban identity. Nowadays, along with the constant development of the infrastructure and retrofitting projects proposed by the municipality, there is a constant deteriorating situation of the overall vegetation ratio as well as a lack of maintenance on individual plots. Consequently, mineral and non-permeable surfaces, which are easier to maintain, dominate pedestrian areas and interior courtyards, detrimental to the presence of urban vegetation. Beginning with the study of the main advantages of greenery in the built fabric near daily activities, the paper emphasizes urban, social and architectural aspects as well as building and human health, using selected design criteria inspired by Active Design and Biophilic Design, both concepts that aim to bring people closer to the natural environment. The selected French case studies aim to show examples of good practice and helped us furthermore develop the investigation. The second step was the on-site analysis of several interior courtyards highlighting their weaknesses and potential to develop for a better social and functional connection. Courtyards with a problematic state concerning the presence and use of greenery were the ones that inspired us to proceed to the presented proposals. The methodology was based on the analysis of Timisoara’s local masterplan for the identification of new developmental directions and the potential of our proposals to align with these and enhance connections between city life and nature. The Green Space Factor served as an actual validation for the quantity and quality of existing and projected vegetation. Four different situations were chosen for development and further study and helped draw conclusions on the greening potential of interior courtyards in central neighbourhoods, as well as the most advantageous vegetative systems for the various types of spaces.