THE GARDENS OF THE CENTRAL SCHOOL IN BUCHAREST - DISPLAY OF NATIONAL HISTORY AND OUTDOOR CULTURAL SPACES

A garden is more than vegetation; it is art, cultural memory, national patrimony and it is the sentimental expression of one’s identity, capable to becoming a mnemonic for future generations to discover. The Central School in Bucharest, one charming piece of the national patrimony, was recently restored, but its gardens were ignored. The current state of the gardens alters the image of the entire ensemble and contradicts the original architectural style and composition of the monument. The study focuses on recovering both the image and the spirit of the school’s remaining gardens, offering the necessary details for recomposing the images the school was identified throughout its history. To this end, our research was conducted on mineral and vegetal compositions and pattern displays, successive style transformations and historical layouts, text descriptions and also on “in situ” observations. The aim of the present study is thus, to demonstrate that the gardens are part of the Central School’s history and identity and that they hold all the necessary attributes to becoming themselves recognized as landscape monuments. This must lead in the end to defying the Central School as a historical ensemble consisting in a mixture of both architectural and landscape creations alike.