The project is build on Dragoș Vodă, a Bucharest typical street, defined by narrow and long plots. The area is described by all sorts of architecture, from imposing villas and pretty blocks of flats, to old slum houses.

© Daniel Miroțoi

The shape of the building is a result, first and foremost, of urban rules: street alignment and mandatory sideways and back successive withdrawals.

© Cosmin Dragomir

Both lateral facades take advantage of the exterior sides by creating terraces and courtyards.

© Cosmin Dragomir

West lateral facade. The recessed levels and the horizontal sliding of the upperlevels create movement within the volume.

© Cosmin Dragomir

The entrance is made via the main facade but not directly from the street but through an open and covered space connected to the ground floor.

© Cosmin Dragomir

Site plan. The building is elongated following the site shape.

Ground floor. On the ground floor, a covered terrace opens towards the street and is designed as a common exterior space. The common corridor creates a true “covered street”, with natural light from both ends.

First floor. The duplex-type formula (duplex-type apartments in the midst, one-level apartments at the ends) combined with the position of the elevators and staircases allows the disappearance of the common corridor starting with the 1st floor.

Cross section. The placement of the compact circulation cores (staircases) allows duplexes on the sides and one-level apartments at the ends.

Cross-section. The successive recessed levels. Both lateral facades take advantage of the exterior side with generous terraces and courtyards.

Apartments mix.

Ground floor apartment. Corners that benefit from two-sided openings, therefore from a lot of light and a direct connection to the exterior garden.

© Cosmin Dragomir

Ground floor apartments have their own gardens, which gives them a character that is very close to an individual dwelling.

© Cosmin Dragomir

The volume inspired by the "wagon" house brings an element of novelty to the typology by placing the access on the plot's street-side so that the lateral setbacks make room for private courtyards. What could be considered an interior promenade, the access hallway starts with an outdoor space and continues with an "alley" to which the two vertical circulation cores are attached. The journey through the building is a dynamic one, with the stairs changing placement and shape.

As the ground floor apartments with private courtyards resemble individual dwellings, the 1st floor showcases a more urban language, with every unit receiving an outdoor space, such as a loggia or balcony. The 2nd and 3rd floors are shaped by a series of recessed volumes that shift horizontally according to the apartment type. The multitude of outdoor spaces culminates with the top floor private terraces.

Given the context of a typical Bucharest street, defined by its narrow and long plots, our proposal is an elongated building, developed towards the interior of the urban fabric.

The successive recessed levels, the horizontal sliding of the volumes representing 4 duplex-type apartments at the upper levels (distinguished by the pulled-plaster textures), the volumetric cuts of the loggias, and the open-drawer-like metal balconies, all define a friendly approach and contribute to bringing the architecture to a more human scale, by creating movement within the massive volume.

The compact circulation cores placement allows for duplexes on the sides and one-level apartments at the ends. As a result, many of the units have a double orientation. The ground floor apartments have their gardens, which give them a specific character close to an individual dwelling.

Beyond exterior private spaces, there is also a public area, given to the community (a covered terrace), which can be used in very different ways: bike/scooter parking, socializing space, safe playground for the inhabitant's children.

The building has a reinforced concrete frame structure, with rectangular columns placed transversally that "slice" the building, allowing for the apartments' double orientation. The two vertical circulation cores are placed diagonally from one another, equilibrating the volume. The balconies have an independent metal structure attached to the concrete slab of the 1st floor, which allowed for them to be treated distinctly, shaping the image of the "drawer" cut from the main volume.

Finding common ground between new materials and different traditional-inspired practices was one of the project's aims. The plaster profiles, so sought-after in the interwar period, join the metal borders on the lateral and superior sides of the windows in the same colour as the joinery. The alternation of materials – plain metal sheet, perforated metal sheet, smooth plaster, lined plaster, bush-hammered stone, honed stone - some providing a slight vibration on certain surfaces, others acting like colour accents, animate a rather simple and clean volume.