Density can, and many times must be seen as a form of sustainability, but the often fragile relationship between habitation within an old neighborhood and the increase of density creates an even greater responsibility for design.
Virgiliu 21-23 Housing
Bucharest, Romania
Client:
Millstone Developments
Project Duration:
2019-2023
Gross area:
4.570 m²
Context
Bucharest is a collage city, a complex mosaic of buildings that mirror a broad spectrum of architectural styles, historical periods, and ideological influences. The project is built on such territory, on Virgiliu Street – a microcosm representative of the city’s diversity. The preservation of the original urban tissue offers the privilege of being able to live in the comfort of a quiet residential neighborhood, as well as the proximity to Bucharest’s cultural landmarks such as The Opera, Bucharest Law University, The Romanian Athenaeum, and Cismigiu Gardens.
Proposal
The building aims to be an honest response to the particular urban setting while achieving the high comfort living for their future residents. The goal was not to seek integration in the urban fabric through formal takeovers – not by trying to emulate any of the architectural styles in the historically layered streetscape, but by finding specific solutions for the building so the design approach can be sustainable and carry on a culture of living.
The building imposes, without being striking, and respects the scale of the area.
The structural elements give the building a robust urban presence. Simultaneously, the rigorous expression is treated evenly on all three sides, avoiding a hierarchy between the façades.
The fragmentation of the façades is made by the subtraction of the loggias, the big glazing surfaces and the withdrawal of the sixth floor. The façades are treated equally with plaster texture except the ground floor that is treated different with stone.
Inside, there are 30 living units. For each apartment we imagined a living scenario where we tried to balance the rigorous functions and the repetitive banalities of everyday life. The dwelling experience is enhanced by the direct relationship every apartment maintains with their own architecturally defined exterior space such as green gardens for the ground floor apartments, large loggias for current floors, or generous terraces for the penthouse units.
The project aims to preserve a high living standard specific to the area, facilitated through spacious apartments with expansive glazed surfaces connecting the living experience with panoramic views of the city. The clean and simple volume is enriched through attention to details, such as the fine metal balustrades on the balconies and loggias and the lacquered wooden benches in the interiors.
PROJECT TEAM:
Architects
Andrei Şerbescu
Adrian Untaru
Horia Munteanu
Constantin Ciocîrlan
Cezara Lorenț
Laura Mihalache
Carmen Petrea
Ioana Penescu
Photographers
© Vlad Pătru