THE PEOPLE'S

PALACE

At 21:22 pm on 4 August 1977, Vrancea earthquake killed 1,424 people and wounded more than 7,500 in Bucharest. The earthquake particularly affected the capital´s multi-storey buildings, mostly apartment buildings, leaving over 35,000 families without shelter. 

​​After the 1977 earthquake, dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu decided to demolish about one-fifth of old Bucharest and relocate 40,000 people to build the People’s House (Casa Poporului) on top of the Spirea’s hill in the centre of the city. 

Constructed over a period of 13 years (1984–1997) the Palace is the world’s heaviest building, the second largest building in the world in terms of size and the third largest in terms of volume. 

The Palace consists of twelve stories and eight underground levels, the last one being a fallout bunker capable of resisting an earthquake of over 8 degrees on the Richter scale, repeated attacks with high-performance rockets and two atomic bombs launched successively.

Since the fall of the communist regime, the 365,000 square metres Palace has hosted the two chambers of the Parliament of Romania: the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies

Although its institutional function has changed and it is now the “house of democracy”, the People’s Palace still dominates Bucharest as a visual reminder of the communist era. 

With its imposing size and opulence, it symbolizes Ceaușescu´s dictatorship and cult of personality. At the same time it is one of Romania’s newly constructed memories. 

Through the eyes of a citizen, it is the most solid and symbolic place. Yet it is impenetrable, unexplored and unbalanced towards the surrounding urban fabric.

“Cities that transform ” takes place in an 800 square meters underground space, located 26 metres below the Plenary Hall of the Chamber of Deputies. The space has no natural light and is accessible through a series of endless corridors and doors. 

Completely surrounded by a concrete perimeter, resistant to earthquakes and atomic bombs, it is most likely the safest place in Bucharest. 

At the same time, it is surrounded by a fragile city that is in a continuous state of economic, demographic and socio-cultural change.

The symbolic act of entering  the underground spaces of the People’s Palace is an essential part of the curatorial concept, through which the exhibition creates an estrangement and bestrows a new series of significance. 

Thus, inserting the portraits of Beirut 26 metres below the Plenary Hall of the Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest turns into an exercise of deep reflection on the connection between the built environment and the collective identity. It also leads to questioning the stability and/or fragility of built structures, cities and the material and immaterial cultural heritage, while bringing empathy to the people’s power to construct and maintain their identity in times of historical, political, economic and social change.

In this context, the Palace´s basement embodies a series of unrevealed stories, drawing attention to the deepest side of our collective consciousness. 

Penetrating these abyssal depths becomes, on the one hand, a progressive journey, challenging the visitor to experience unconventional insights and paths; whereas on the other hand, it re-emerges and opens a dialogue on the role of citizens in the light of present and past changes. The aim is to foster an exchange between society and politics, where culture becomes as a mediator of personal stories.