Modern Reinterpretation Of A Traditional Romanian House
This is Casa G3, an intriguing residence which can be found in Otopeni, near Bucharest, the capital of Romania. The project included the consolidation and expansion of an existing house and was completed in 2015 by LAMA Archtiectura, a studio founded by two young architects, Calin Radu and Dan Enache linked by a common passion for candid design.
The two share the same vision and they use it to give each project a logo, something to identify it by, something which gives it character. They establish this after analyzing the project’s thematic, the client’s wishes as well as the site and the context.
When redesigning the existing structure and creating the overall residence now known as Casa G3, the architects faced a series of challenges unique to the site and the project. The original house covered an area of 100 square meters and included a basement, a ground floor, a first floor and an attic.
Its structure was preserves but its appearance changes. This is now a modern reinterpretation of the traditional pitched-roof house.
The extension which was added to the existing building has a contemporary shape and design, sharing similarities with what is known as origami, in this case made of concrete. Th extension is attached to the old house, a visual and spatial dialogue being established between them.
The new entrance to the house is situated at the point where the two volumes (the original house and the extension) meet. The entrance area unified these volumes, establishing a strong and natural connection between them.
The new extension houses a spacious and airy living space while the remaining spaces are contained within the old structure. Together, these two volumes incorporate all the necessary elements for a comfortable and inviting family home.
A large wooden deck wraps around both these volumes, further emphasizing the connection they share. The wooden deck also establishes a sense of continuity throughout the residence, for both the interior and the exterior spaces.
An extension of the wooden deck incorporates the swimming pool with its adjacent terrace. The exterior spaces are dominated by a concrete canopy with a sculptural and simplistic design. This canopy shelter’s an outdoor living space furnished with comfortable seating and accent lighting.
The palette of materials used for this project includes gray folded metal sheets used for the roof, exposed concrete for the walls and ceiling, wood for the flooring and deck and tiles recovered from the original roof now used as decorations for the exterior accent wall. The wooden beams featured inside were recovered from the old design.
The basement level houses a wine cellar and a utility room. The living room, and a partially-covered terrace are contained within the new extension, on the ground floor. The kitchen, dining area, a lounge space, wardrobe and a bathroom are house inside the original volume, also on the ground floor.
The original house volume was designed to also include a loft area where the main bedroom with a dressing area and bathroom, a guest bedroom and the children’s bedroom are located. A ladder offers access from the children’s bedroom into a separate bedroom situated on top of the ground floor bathroom.
As you can see, the architects managed to make the most of what they could preserve from the original structure and design and then added an extension meant to make the entire project follow a modern and intriguing design with lots of character.