Mediul construit şi tuberculoza prin ochii medicilor din România modernă

  • Subiect: The topic of the present article stems from a larger study, dealing with the imprints of tuberculosis on the built environment, attained by impacting decisions on spatial configurations both at the scale of buildings and that of human settlements, on building materials, on architectural elements and on construction details. The association of tuberculosis with the built environment comes from the latter being perceived, by society in general and medical realm professionals in particular, as both a major vulnerability, allowing the wide spread of this disease, and as an instrument or adjuvant in the healing process. Examining the writings of architects in modern Romania, the abundance of debates regarding style, identity or, generally, cultural input, together with the display of significant buildings to be taken as a reference, creates the picture of a remarkable architectural environment, yet in most instances we can find there no information on its amount. At the other extreme, there are various literary depictions of squalid, nightmarish architectural surroundings. Whereas the descriptions made by physicians offer balance plus clear details and data: a raw image of the built environment of the time, analyzed beyond propaganda or showcases of outstanding achievements representative only for a small segment of society. The epoch we are looking at here, was shaped by major medical discoveries and progress, that led to lifestyle changes and, as a result, altered the perception on the existing built environment. It was the time when initially utilitarian elements, demanded by the medical practice, became elements of style in architecture, used by architects who wanted to show their adhesion to the modern lifestyle. The medical knowledge destined to inform the built environment professionals, takes today the shape of legal regulations yet, paradoxically, the influence channel that once naturally connected architecture and medical knowledge is not in operation anymore, making necessary a new reading, in parallel, of architecture and urbanism writings on the one side and of medical writings on the other side, in order to properly comprehend the built environment of the modern age. The matter of tuberculosis in relation to the built environment was noticed and investigated by a large series of Romanian physicians, either regarding the efforts to configure an anti-tubercular equipment up to the modern standards, with all its built components, or regarding the physical state of modern Romanian rural and urban settlements and its effects on the health of their inhabitants. An analysis of these writings introduces a better understanding, followed by a refining of the knowledge on modern Romanian built environment and, in the same time, it calls for bringing the valuable lessons resulted from the fight against tuberculosis, back in the minds of professionals that configure today’s built environment.
  • Limba de redactare: română
  • Secţiunea: Dosar tematic: Diagnostic şi societate în România modernă / Thematic dossier: Diagnose and Society in Modern Romania
  • Vezi publicația: Bucureşti - Materiale de Istorie şi Muzeografie: Bucureşti-MIM
  • Editura: Muzeul Municipiului Bucureşti
  • Loc publicare: Bucureşti
  • Anul publicaţiei: 2017
  • Referinţă bibliografică pentru nr. revistă: anul 2017
  • Paginaţia: 47-53
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