Artist in Residence – Nae Petrescu Houses – Plantelor Street No. 56-58

Authors’ Comment

The studied establishment is located in central Bucharest, on Plantelor Street Nr. 56-58. It’s in the Traian nr.19 protected area classified as a B class monument.
The intervention proposed through Bucharest’s Cultural Strategy 2016-2026, brought to life by Arcub, aims to revitalise and showcase the architectural heritage of this building, while also (re)introducing it into a cultural timeline that will bring to the forefront one of Bucharest’s landmarks, Plantelor Street; public space and buildings as an act of culture; growing international artist presence in Bucharest for short periods of time, three to six months, for artistic residency programs like those made available by Arcub, Creart, ICR, Bucharest Artist in Residence.
This made possible the following area of activities:
• Various art shops, art libraries and bookstores.
• Workshops on the ground floors, opened so the public can see firsthand the creative process.
• The inner yard, not usually opened for the public, is dedicated to the artists and is opened for the public only during special creative activities. For this reason, the Café is in the front of the house so that the public has easy access to it. Another urban element is the town square in front of the house.
• The Café represents an urban concept, a modern space inspired by the urban context taking characteristic elements.
• Another important element is the basement. Because the buildings are narrow and have these basements, it was decided to have both those houses connected by a common space, resulting an area with multiple activities: temporary or permanent expositions, workshops, conferences, etc.
• Three painting workshops: two for two persons and one for a single person. These are split on two floors: the living area and the workshops. The furniture is custom, every artist can arrange his/her work space after his/her own liking.
The proposed artistic residency program is designed to accommodate the specific needs of artist that want to work on independent projects. The artist has the opportunity to work and showcase his work in the gallery, to interact and exchange ideas with other artists.