HOUSE 1408
STUDIO 1408
COLLABORATORS
Alex Bucur
LEAD ARCHITECTS
Lucian Bugnariu & Diana Bugnariu
MANUFACTURERS
Nelissen, Artemide, b&b italia furniture, gewiss smart house electrics, nibe heat pump, porcelanosa ceramics, roche bobois furniture, shuko frames
DESIGN TEAM
Lucian Bugnariu, Diana Bugnariu, Diana Jitariu, Alin Stoica
AREA
240 m²
ENGINEERING
Matei Bugnariu
LANDSCAPE
Lucian Bugnariu
CONSULTANTS
Adrian Stoichina
LOCATION
Balotești, Romania
YEAR
2020
CATEGORY
Houses, House Interiors, Landscape
Text description provided by architect.
The first time we visited the site, the location is absolutely impressive.
It is a beautiful meadow surrounded by an old forest with huge oak trees.
We asked ourselves "How do we design a house that compliments the surroundings but does not overshadow them?", and "What exactly makes a house great?".
There are a thousand possible answers to this question but not one that is absolutely right or wrong.
We feel the most important answer in this situation is to create a meaningful connection to the special surroundings, a connection to nature and the community, and this belief has shaped the whole project.
We designed the house around this comfortable exterior space, a loggia with beautiful views on two opposite sides, yet protected from wind and rain which makes it comfortable to use in all seasons.
It is a space big enough to hold a dinner for twelve, yet cozy enough for just one person reading a book on a rainy day. We imagined these moments and designed the spaces to hold them.
The corner lot is a particularly difficult lot, as it requires a six-meter retreat from both streets leaving a narrow strip as the buildable area.
To emphasize this corner land, we designed a long brick wall that develops a controlled intimacy for the spaces of the ground floor.
On this brick wall, the stone bench has a symbolic significance. Most of us live in disconnected, unfriendly neighborhoods so it is difficult to feel we are part of a community.
In rural communities in Romania, there is a bench in front of every house where people would gather and connect with each other. So, this bench is exactly that, an invitation to the neighbors, a place for community and friendship.
The staircase, the sculptural element of the house, takes us to the night spaces that we envisioned as a nest, that sits protected on the brick wall, completing the symbolism of the house.
