Reclaiming Bucharest’s architectural heritage. Student dwellings and cultural establishments along Calea Griviței

Authors’ Comment

The diploma project began with a careful, almost methodical reading of the city at a macro scale. It was followed by a natural descent toward a specific situation: the area of Calea Griviței, a historic axis of Bucharest which, although fragmented, still retains a certain structural coherence.
To better define the current context, the project chose to settle within a marginalized urban fabric — more precisely, on the boundary between Calea Griviței and Mircea Vulcănescu Street, a narrow strip where three wagon house dwellings stand in an advanced state of decay. As the proposal moves closer to its concrete resolution, it seeks to take root in place. This is how the “seduction of the plan” begins.
Naturally, the project started with a close reading of the plan: every remaining wall of the houses was peeled back, analyzed, and redrawn. Then came the idea of reinforcement, prompted by the extreme fragility of these structures. In this process, an enfilade of spaces emerged — with sculpture studios on the ground floor and student housing above.
Working under the hypothesis of composing through multiple volumes that relate both to the immediate site and to the larger urban fabric, the project introduces the irresistible image of the pitched roof. These roofs seek their own place — either autonomous or conjoined, clustered along the gable. With them came the idea of enriching the place through fine, lightweight structures: a series of verandas recalling the typology of the Bucharest "geamlâc".
These delicate additions appear grafted onto the opaque, solid volumes. In essence, these are fragments of garden. And since we speak of detail, the presence of these roofs naturally brings with it a small family of carefully placed architectural elements: chimneys, dormers, skylights, gutters, and downspouts.
Zooming out from the detail scale, it becomes important to clarify the spatial program. Along the lower street, Mircea Vulcănescu, lie the most intimate functions, respecting the quiet character of the surroundings: student housing above, sculpture studios below. Out of a practical need for a long space, a sunken studio appears — a narrow, elongated room accessible via a hidden staircase.
Further along lies the main student atelier. It is structured as a concrete shell, doubled by masonry made from reclaimed bricks found on site, cleaned and reassembled with mortar. Toward Calea Griviței, the project maintains the commercial character of the street by integrating a bookstore and an art and stationery shop, while the two restored wagon houses are repurposed as small museum spaces for painting and sculpture.
Naturally, the project also includes other functions specific to a student-oriented space: a library with a reading room, and a small painting studio.
Ultimately, the project seeks the quiet beauty of detail — courtyards, thresholds, staircases, fences. These hidden gardens, stairs leading downward into quiet rooms — they are the very elements that make a city a city. And this project anchors them in place.