The shape of the building is inspired by the exoskeleton of a marine creature called a nautilus. Its coiled shell gave us the idea of arranging the inner areas along a spiraled path, thus achieving a fluid and dynamic space. This organizing generated in volumetry skins of variable heights and materials (concrete, glass, metal and plaster), thus modeling a curved, organic form.
We had a vague idea about what it meant accepting the challenge to design a shelter at 2,100 m within a restricted budget, especially since we asked to build it ourselves, based on the 10 year experience of workshops with students at Sky Hill workshop platform.
Hotel Mercure Bucharest City Center is a building with a story behind. The story appeared as a design consequence and has been further used as a feature for the hotel, which is a story-telling type.
The selection of the site for the future dwelling was determined by the proximity to Herastrau Park, which also determined the small size of the lot which is surrounded by undesirable neighboring areas. A direct consequence of these conditions was the vertical development of the spaces (ground floor garage, first floor living quarters, second floor for sleeping area and the third floor for relaxation terrace/ spa to make up for the small and shady yard from the yard level).
The project could be considered as daring because of its site proportions, a long but very narrow strip of land (7.5 X 40 M) with a blind wall on one side.
A familiar element of the denser rural fabric translates half-distance between the village and it’s high forests and pasture: on the “sacred perimeter” defined by the ruin of the late medieval village church and an outpost chapel, where the Saint Anna well and bathing pond are located. The design of the reception hut derives from the buildings of permanent rural homesteads and seasonally used stables scattered on the higher grazing fields. However, traditional volume, structure and details are adapted to current times, especially prefabrication needs – while shingles, hand-split, provide for natural texture.
This project’s design theme was the consolidation and expansion of an existing house.
The site for the project is located in Otopeni city, adjacent to Bucharest. It consists of a generous plot on which an old 100 sqm house was located. The house had a basement, ground floor, first floor and attic.
The Mayor’s Office of Toplita initiates the rehabilitation of a former industrial facility ahead of the great majority of towns in Romania. Instead of keeping away from these types of real estate values or adopting a scheme of denial, concealment, the proposal „raises” the building from the level of an infrastructural facility to the grade of a community facility: and creating the charming metaphore of a former heating facility as a lively social center.
Right nearby the Hajdó house (formerly designed by our office), the same client wants to raise its pension’s capacity by building a couple of pavilion apartments well integrated in the natural and built environment. The 4 cabins were designed to fulfill the comfort needs of a family or a group of friends. They consist of a kitchen-living room, bathroom and an attic bedroom with 2 double beds.
This project is a rehabilitation with the situation. In 2004 there was an approved urban plan that regulate the situation for this property. We have come up with another proposal to amend the plan and proposed a solution to the created situation – rehabilitation of the urban space.
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