Fanionului 35 Apartment Building

Authors’ Comment

White Volume, Golden Accents
Collective housing in a neighbourhood of houses

Concept
A small collective housing building (ground floor plus two levels and a setback roof volume) set within the narrow-plot fabric of Bucharest's residential periphery. It sits naturally beside its neighbours, imitating neither the surrounding houses nor the scale of large housing estates.
Volume
The building is composed of white blocks that shift, step back and overlap. The recesses form covered loggias and balconies that act as outdoor rooms for each apartment, while the staggered silhouette breaks down the mass and softens its scale towards the street.
Façade
Matte white render is the dominant material, letting the volumes read sculpturally in changing daylight. Recessed and transitional zones carry a fine vertical ribbed relief that adds depth and delicate shadows without ornament. Openings vary freely in size, from generous windows to small punctual apertures, and their deep reveals give both depth and solar protection.
Colour as identity
A single golden-yellow accent unites window frames, balustrades, fence, gates and the garage door. Against the white ground it creates a warm, memorable and friendly image. The zigzag geometry of the railings repeats from the scale of the street to that of the balcony, giving the language continuity.
Site and street
A transparent fence on a low white plinth keeps the visual link with the street and avoids a closed-wall effect. A recessed porch marks the pedestrian entrance, while a ramp leads to underground parking, freeing the garden from cars. The grounds remain green and usable, with lawn, play areas and a shared garden to the rear.
Living
Every apartment has private outdoor space, multiple orientations and large windows with abundant natural light. Planters with aromatic herbs bring greenery to the façade and a domestic touch.
Message
A calm, clear and optimistic architecture showing that densifying a neighbourhood of houses can be done with restraint, quality of detail and care for the neighbours. White and gold form a simple, recognisable identity, and the discipline of the geometry holds the whole together.