Extension of the Pomiculture Research and Development Centre in Băneasa, Bucharest

Authors’ Comment

The Diploma Project is located in the Băneasa neighborhood, in the northern part of Bucharest. The current function of the Research and Development Station for Pomiculture is preserved and expanded according to the present needs of the research center. Additionally, the complex is opened to the public, with the internal layout presenting spaces dedicated to this purpose, thus transforming the private nature of the research center into a semi-public one.
The historic house on the lot, initially a residential building, housed notable figures during World War II and the interwar period, such as the philosopher Nae Ionescu or Marshal Ion Antonescu. The proposal repurposes the existing building and extends its function through three adjacent volumes.
The architecture of the proposed ensemble on the site adjacent to the Nae Ionescu House draws elements from the historic building and reinterprets them in a dynamic and diverse composition. The predominant height of the ensemble is ground level, subordinating itself to the historic building, though the elongated street-front structure is one level higher, thus maintaining the existing street front.
The overall plan respects the proportions and language of the historic building, with dominant dimensions and characteristic elements being taken and interpreted within the ensemble. Symmetry is the dominant feature of the proposal, with new axes of symmetry creating dynamic interior spaces or exterior courtyards. The adopted symmetry is imperfect, with the effect subordinated to the logic of the original ensemble.
Alternation is present in the Diploma Project proposal by taking existing elements on the site and reinterpreting them in an alternating manner. This is evident in the reinterpretation of the inner courtyard of the main body of the Nae Ionescu House.
Regarding the inner layout of the research body, the cells housing the laboratories adopt the proportions of the annexes on the northern façade of the historic building. The addition of a row of services rooms between the laboratories and the hallways, meaning between the main function and the circulation routes, derives from the later gesture of attaching the former annexes of the Nae Ionescu House to the main body, resulting in three parallel functional strips.