Revitalising the historic district Mântuleasa – garden dwellings

Authors’ Comment

The intervention aims to create an intermediate type housing, respecting and completing the character of the area, by adapting the wagon-house model - the majority of houses will have indvidual entrances, unique orientation and will benefit from a private garden or a generous terrace. The integration of the built volumes is done by decomposing them into several units that relate differently to the neighborhoods, covering the blind walls placed on property lines. The arrangement of the volumes and the variation of the height give a human scale to the intervention. There is a discontinuous front that grows in height from north to south, retreating to highlight the chestnuts with historical value. The front garden is in relation to the proposed public functions, namely workspaces for the new community and a literary cafe in memory of the writings of Mircea Eliade. The back garden is dedicated to the newly created community, being accessible to all the inhabitants on 7-9 Mântuleasa Street, together with three built spaces adaptable to their needs.