The ensemble is located at the intersection of Moșilor Road and Mântuleasa Street, a historical area shaped during the decades bordering the 19th and 20th centuries. Reactivating the monument and integrating it into the local urban fabric were the main pillars in developing the solution.
The Popp-Bunescu residence was designed in 1885 by Jean Berthet in an eclectic Beaux-Arts style, during a key stage in the evolution of the commercial artery—the direction of urbanization through the construction of merchant houses and inns. In 2020, when the building and the adjacent parcel were being considered for intervention, the Popp-Bunescu House was in an advanced state of degradation, exhibiting a series of spontaneous modifications. The intervention agenda aimed to restore the authentic image of the building, a Group B historic monument, and reactivate it within a mixed-use ensemble: offices and collective housing.
The monument's restoration conserved its entire decorative and architectural language. Wooden roof elements and joinery parts were reconstructed, and the original wooden staircase was rebuilt in concrete and clad in wood.
The blind walls (party walls) were transformed from traditionally opaque and unsightly surfaces into architectural elements that engage with the exterior through the insertion of subtle elements in the form of reinterpreted bow windows. The approach to the latter and to the materiality, preserving the original brick texture, simultaneously marks the contemporary identity of the monument.
The extension of the monument with a taller volume for private use was articulated by setting back in two directions, both in the ground plans and the upper levels of the proposed volume. On one hand, the gesture of placing the new volume in the background accentuates the monument's presence on the street.
On the other hand, the intermediate spaces created at the street alignment level at the access point function to complement the pedestrian journey and the commercial spaces. Facing the street, the proposal aims to enrich the urban circuit, featuring a public passage portico at the intersection with Părintele Stăniloae Street. At the same time, the terrace running along the short direction serves as a buffer space between the residential access and the public space. At the upper levels, the setbacks are meant to provide privacy for the housing units and to harmoniously integrate the volumetry into the urban context.
The solution aimed for a highly diverse arrangement of the 27 apartments across the 5 levels. Individuality is defined, on one hand, through the variety of the housing unit layouts, ranging from 2 to 4 rooms and studios distributed over one, two, or three levels. On the other hand, this factor is emphasized in the approach to the outdoor spaces, resolved through balconies, loggias, and generous terraces. The latter enhance the openness to the panoramic view of the historic center. For similar reasons, the rooftop terrace is divided by planters designed to create intimate outdoor spaces for each apartment, while compensating for the lack of green areas—a direct consequence of the built density of the historic center.
The inclinations of the upper walls of the volume were determined as part of integrating the building into the built environment's profile, as well as a compositional method to reconcile the privacy levels of the terraces resulting from the setbacks of the last three levels. In addition, the regular composition of the facades on the lower registers brings full visual coherence to the entire ensemble. This is dynamically enhanced through material contrasts compatible with those proposed in the intervention project of the former Popp-Bunescu house, namely exposed brick and multi-layered plaster in pale shades.