1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Timişoara
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Bastionul Theresia
Short description of the intervention
Bastion Theresia Timisoara was built as a defensive perimeter for the Romanian town of Timisoara and has languished for decades in the center of the city. The bastion was rehabilitated and it incorporates green spaces and a community center. The old fortress' location in the middle of town makes it a natural hub for transportation and assembly, and the extensive green roof incorporates it into the city's urban green belt. (1)
Address

Popa Șapcă street, no. 4
300057 Timisoara
Romania

Area boundary
POINT (21.234831 45.756978)
POINT (21.233898 45.757193)
POINT (21.233807 45.757448)
NBS area image
Source of NBS area image
Google Images
Total area
17000.00m²
NBS area
17000.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2003
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2009
End date of the intervention
2011
Present stage of the intervention
Goals of the intervention
1. Creating a place for socializing for locals and tourists (1);
2. Integrating the bastion into the green belt of the city (2);
4. Battling summer temperatures through the gateway's roof and the green public market (1).
Quantitative targets
unknown
Monitoring indicators defined
unknown
Climate change adaptation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Climate change adaptation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Implementation activities
Building work began in March 2008, slowly but surely, occupying the open areas and dismantling the woodwork. Then came the first
surprise: a number of large trees were cut down, with the permission of the city hall, trees that ought to have become part of the “green” dimension to be created in the courtyard.The contract stipulated that the work should take twenty months from start to finish, and this was reflected in the fact that it was tackled from a number of directions at once. At the same time, details of the work in
progress and plans of the final work had to be drawn up.
The contractor hired German and later Romanian architects, but at the same time also required a design team. (4)
Type of NBS project
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Nature on buildings (external)
Green roofs
Grey infrastructure featuring greens
Institutional green space
Parks and urban forests
Green corridors and green belts
Vegetation Type
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Regulating services
Local climate regulation (temperature reduction)
Air quality regulation
Carbon storage/sequestration
Cultural services
Tourism
Aesthetic appreciation
Inspiration for culture, art and design
Recreation
Scale
Spatial scale
Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Beneficiaries
Governance
Non-government actors
Private sector/Corporate/Business
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
The project was split between the municipality as the proprietor of the Bastion, which with EU funds and national funds, auctioned the space for an architecture firm which designed among others a green roof.
Key actors - initiating organization
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
EU body
National government
Local government/municipality
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Yes
Please specify the "Regional Directive/Strategy"
The intervention mentions connections with the 2005 PHARE Economic and Social Cohesion for Romania: Improving infrastructure, improving access to education and
training, SME support and environmental protection (2)
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Unknown
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
PHARE subsidies, http://www.cjtimis.ro/uploads/files/Proiecte/Prezentare%20Bastion.pdf
Co-finance for NBS
Yes
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Financing
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
9 731 847,56 euro of which 5 mil - PHARE, 1,7 mil. - national budget, 3,3 mil - local budget
The project was a part of the PHARE program, one of the three pre-accession instruments financed by the European Union to assist the applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe in their preparations for joining the European Union.
Type of fund(s) used
Non-financial contribution
No
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Please specify technological innovation
Architecturally speaking, there is a glass-lined subterranean assembly which is placed smack dab in the middle, with a shallow ramp funneling visitors downwards. Also, this is the first green roof on a historical building in Romania. (1)
Please specify social innovation
The many concrete ramps and open portals to the street offer bicycle-friendly paths, which local kids on BMXs will soon made full use of. It also allows people to gather there as a community. (1)
Novelty level of the innovation
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Replicability/Transferability
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Description of environmental benefits
In 2014, the architecture firm that was contracted for the restoration issued a report about the results and the benefits of the NBS. It was specified that there was an increase in green space as well as building a successful model in which different urban landscape interact (natural and built environment) (1)
Economic impacts
Description of economic benefits
It was expected that the implementation of the NBS will encourage a sustainable tourism (3)
Social and cultural impacts
Description of social and cultural benefits
Unknown
Type of reported impacts
Indicators
Unknown
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown as of August 2020.
Methods of impact monitoring
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
Yes
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Yes
Mode(s) of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Documents relevant to the intervention
List of references
1. Miclaus M. et all (2014), Garden of Dreams, Timisoara, Available at http://www.studioarchaeus.ro/fundatia/bastion_2793_partial_mic.pdf (Accessed 29-6-2020)
2. Primaria Municipiului Timisoara (2009), Referat: Reabilitarea şi revitalizarea fortificaţiei Cetăţii Timişoara, Bastionul Theresia, Available at http://www.primariatm.ro/uploads/domino/atasamente_hcl/8FAEE00241CD64454225708C002CF99E/Referat_-_Reabilitare_Bastion.pdf (Accessed 29-6-2020)
3. InHabitat (2012), 18th Century Romanian Bastion Transformed Into Green-Roofed Public Center, Available at http://inhabitat.com/romanian-bastion-transformed-into-green-roofed-public-center/ (Accessed 29-6-2020)
4. Tion (2011), Spatiile din Bastionul Theresia incep sa fie impartite, Available at http://www.tion.ro/spatiile-din-bastionul-theresia-incep-sa-fie-impartite/893494 (Accessed 29-6-2020)
5. Timisoara Express (2013), "Unde s-au dus cele 10 milioane euro din reabilitarea Bastionului Theresia?", (Website not available in 2020)
6.Banatul Azi (2018), Ultimul bastion al Timişoarei — spaţiul din centrul istoric părăsit de turişti şi autorităţi, Available at https://www.banatulazi.ro/ultimul-bastion-timisoarei-spatiul-din-centrul-istoric-parasit-de-turisti-si-autoritati/, (Accessed 12-8-2020)
Comments and notes
Comments
Initially the complex was in disrepair, but the architects have done an excellent job by removing concrete surfaces added to the 70 that would otherwise be damaged even more original brick.
The total built-up area of ​​the Bastion building is about 9760 sqm and the surface of the surrounding area (green areas, alleys
Pedestrian) that is about 2ha (2)
Additional insights
Residents reactions to the completed intervention:
According to comments on an news article issued in 2013, in Timisoara Express, called "Unde s-au dus cele 10 milioane euro din reabilitarea Bastionului Theresia?" (Where did the 10 mil euro invested in the Theresia Bastion went?) the residents wrote very disapprovingly. They accuse the main architect, Marius Miclaus of spending the money in vain and including doable glazed windows in the rehabilitation of this 18th century monument. They also claim, after visiting the building, that the issue of the dampness has not been solved (5)
Updates August 2020: The local press reported in 2018 that the previous rehabilitation failed and that the windows are broken and that the area is a common place for homeless people. (6)
Public Images
Image
View of the Bastion
View of the NBS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresia_Bastion#/media/File:Bastionul_Theresia_ansamblu.jpg