The challenge of this project was to transform an existing one room house, joint to a ground-floor apartment building with a common courtyard, into a comfortable home for a family of four. Given the small dimensions of the existing building, our design proposal was to expand it with an upper story.
The ground-floor is designed as a singular room which combines the hallway, the kitchen, living and the dining room within the same space, thus giving one the impression of a much more generous floor area.
The garret floor includes the three bedrooms that the family needs and therefore ingenious space saving solutions were applied in order to gain more living area. We opted for a design that makes use of the space above the staircase and the corridor, transforming it into the kids bed nooks. By doing this the younger members’ bedrooms will have a playful personality given by the two split levels linked only by a steep fortress like stair in the magical childhood universe. The solution will also impact the geometry of the roof, resulting in an asymmetrical shape that hides the split levels and provides the opportunity for the natural light to flood in. There is an abundance of light throughout the garret floor, which contributes to the feeling of a generous space and extinguishes the burdensome feeling of common garret floors.
At ground-level, the wide windows of the south facade facilitate the extension of the house onto the side terrace, and the continuous communication between interior and exterior, a fervent wish of the lady of the house.
Design Team: Paul-Mihai Moldovan, Florin-Vasile Lazar, Anamaria Moldovan
Collaborator[s]: eng. Calin Crisan
Design Year: 2012
Status: Design development
Execution | Completion Year: -
Location: Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Net area: 131 sqm
Text: ateliercetrei
Photographer[s]: ateliercetrei