3 Trajan St

Authors’ Comment

Continuing the thought process behind building in the historic center of Constanta, we find ourselves again facing the challange of inserting a new building on 3 Trajan street, in the immediate vicinity of Ovidius Square. The surrounding urban fabric is relatively compact, structured by narrow streets that feature continuous building patterns of mostly low rise houses, with occasional higher multy-storey accents – reminiscent of the old part of town’s original configuration.
The site can be found in a falloff area between old and new parts of town, bordered on two opposing sides by the blind walls of two early XX-th century Art-Deco buildings, leaving the front and back sides open towards the street, creating a funnel-like visual effect.
Like the previous housing project in the area, 3 Traian St stands for a non-exhaustive attempt to insert a living space that reflects aspects of the contemporary, in a form that subtly merges with the adjacent urban fragments, coexisting in a non-invasive fashion together. Three identical modules are placed between the two bordering walls, and intersected according to the visual forces that pressure the site, as well as programmatic necessity and orientation.
As a response to the spatial configuration, the interior configuration comprises spaces with different heights and uses that are featured clearly toward the exterior, permeating through facades that are simultaneously bound to structural logic. The color tones and textures that cover the entire building are a sublte eulogy to various remarkable historic buildings found in the area during the site study, blending appropriately with the general image of the southern peninsula.
The ground floor hosts spaces for public interaction, open both toward the street and inner courtyard. The first and second aboveground floors hold the private living areas. The third and last floor holds recreational and work-from-home spaces that open both toward the sky and the peninsula.