Project: Interior Refurbishment of a 100 m2 Apartment
Architecture and Interior Design: VATRAA
Team: Bogdan Rusu, Andrei Patriche, Anamaria Pircu
Location: Bucharest, Romania
Area: 100 m2
Year: 2019
Photo Credits: Laurian Ghinitoiu
Winner, Bucharest Annual of Architecture 2020
Winner, BIG SEE Wood Awards 2019
We were commissioned by a young couple to renovate a 100 m2 apartment by maximizing natural light while bringing expressive materials and textures to the interior.
Before the refurbishment, the original walls and columns created random niches in different planes. We turned this anomaly into an advantage, by carefully reconfiguring the niches in order to highlight different areas of the design.
Instead of bringing ‘false’ materials into the design, we removed the existing stucco, in order to discover the original concrete structure and ceiling, together with the old brick walls.
In order to highlight the natural texture of the revealed materials, we keep
the rest of the finishes minimal and smooth achieving a contrasting, yet complementary relation.
In addition, we designed a minimalist line of crafted oak furniture, blending with the oak floor and warming up the entire space. A local carpenter was commissioned to execute 11 pieces of handcraft oak furniture, which combines natural textures of wood, metal, and leather, in a simple, minimalist design.
Working closely with the craftsmen, we managed to control every design detail.
The dining lamp is a unique piece designed and made exclusively for this project by VATRAA, blending leather, metal, and oak in a subtle linear shape with curved ends, toning down the sharpness of the other pieces of furniture.
Similarly, a gentle curve is introduced at the dining bench to break the rigidity of the composition.
The curve shaped free-standing furniture brings softness to the entire composition while the light brown leather tone warms up the atmosphere.
The curtains gently filter the natural light and bring a ‘scenographic’ character to the entire living area.
The same design elements are brought to the sleeping area but in a more subtle manner.
The original brick is combined with minimalist, smooth surfaces while the curtain plays the same scenographic role, wrapping the entire space and hiding the dressing table behind.
The bespoke dressing table comes in pure minimalist lines, almost as a single piece of oak not designed to stand out but to leave the attention to the beautiful patio view. The bathrooms are simple and functional, combining concrete tones with the warm texture of the wood.
